India's Satellites Miss 90% of Punjab Farm Fires, Hiding Delhi's Pollution Source

• A new report reveals over 90% of large farm fires in Punjab and many in Haryana go undetected by official satellite systems, impacting Delhi's pollution data.
• The detection gap occurs because farmers now burn stubble after 3 pm, while official satellites monitor between 10:30 am and 1:30 pm.
• This "blind spot" leads to underestimated stubble burning contributions to Delhi-NCR pollution and inaccurate air quality forecasts.
• Despite a decline in burnt area, active fire counts show a steeper fall, indicating many fires are being missed, not that they aren't happening.
• iFOREST recommends overhauling the monitoring system, including using burnt-area data, integrating geostationary satellites, and expanding monitoring to new hotspots like UP and MP.

Why It Matters: Official data misses most farm fires, leading to flawed pollution policies.