New Study Finds Traffic, Not Stubble Burning, as Primary Driver of Delhi’s Winter Pollution Spikes

By A Staff Reporter

A new analysis has challenged the widely held perception that stubble burning is the major reason behind Delhi’s toxic winter air, finding instead that vehicular emissions and other local pollution sources are the dominant contributors. Despite farm fires dropping to multi-year lows this season, Delhi-NCR continued to choke under hazardous air, with October and November recording air-quality levels consistently in the ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ range.

According to the study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a rising “toxic cocktail” of PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) generated largely by traffic has been driving daily pollution peaks. The assessment observed that local combustion sources have overtaken cross-border stubble smoke as the primary pollutant load during winter months.

The findings are backed by monitoring data from across the capital. Of the monitoring stations analysed, at least 22 exceeded permissible CO limits on more than half of the 59 days reviewed. Dwarka Sector-8 recorded violations on 55 days — the highest among all stations — while Jahangirpuri and Delhi University’s North Campus followed closely with 50 days each.