System miss stubble fires, Delhi pollution undercounted: Report

India’s satellite system for monitoring stubble burning misses most incidents, underestimating air pollution, says iFOREST’s Stubble Burning Status Report 2025. Relying on MODIS and VIIRS, satellites observe between 10:30 am and 1:30 pm, while farmers now burn stubble in late afternoon and evening. This gap leaves the true environmental impact largely unrecorded.