STNMTZ_20211018_9896.TIF | George Steinmetz

Punjab, India
Burning rice stubble after harvest on the fertile plains of Punjab. The wheat planting immediately follows the rice harvest, and stubble fires are a quick and cheap way to clear the land, as rice stubble doesn’t break down quickly or support the next crop. The smoke from rice stubble fires creates a pervasive plume of smoke that pollutes the skies from here to Delhi, some 250 miles downwind.

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Punjab, India<br />
Burning rice stubble after harvest on the fertile plains of Punjab. The wheat planting immediately follows the rice harvest, and stubble fires are a quick and cheap way to clear the land, as rice stubble doesn’t break down quickly or support the next crop. The smoke from rice stubble fires creates a pervasive plume of smoke that pollutes the skies from here to Delhi, some 250 miles downwind.