Rains bring relief from foggy conditions

Shopian, Nov 30: Thanks to rains, we are at least able to see each other and breathe comfortably, says an environmentally concerned citizen Javed Ahmad in south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
The area is known for its extensive apple orchards, which provide a livelihood to more than 80 percent of the people.

Each year, as the harvesting season ends, the apple cultivators start pruning their orchards, a crucial practice for enhancing the crop load and doing away with the dead and diseased parts of the trees.
However, after the pruning is over, farmers resort to burning the twigs and fallen leaves within their orchards, causing air pollution.

Over the last 2 to 3 weeks, apple cultivators could be seen burning mountains of leaves and twigs with billows of pitch-black smoke rising from apple farms, which sprawl over thousands of kanal land in the area.

The entire district was enveloped in thick smoke, making it difficult for the people to breathe comfortably in the area.
“Around this season, farmers burn leaves and twigs to make charcoal, which they use during winters to keep the biting cold at bay,” said Ahmad. “However, it comes at a significant environmental cost by
lowering the air quality.”

He said that over the last more than two weeks, the smoke had affected the visibility considerably.

“It caused eye-burning and contributed to fog and haze. The rains have brought some relief,” Ahmad said.

‘Winter Burst of Pristine Kashmir Valley’, a study conducted in 2018 by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in collaboration with the University of Kashmir (KU) showed that 84 percent (1246.5 tons per year) of the total annual emissions stem from domestic coal usage with vehicular combustion contributing 220.5 tons per year.

Vice Chancellor, Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) Prof Shakil Romshoo in an interview with Greater Kashmir attributed the smog to the crop burning and temperature inversion.
Romshoo had also said that the rains could help in doing away with the foggy weather conditions.

The apple farmers said, “We understand that burning of foliage contributes to pollution, but there is no alternative available to them.”

They also said that in the absence of a seamless power supply they were left with no options but to use charcoal to keep themselves warm during the harsh winters.

Notably, the area experiences harsh weather conditions with temperatures dipping several notches below the freezing point.

In February 2021, the area witnessed minus 15.1 degrees Celsius.

However, experts say that Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST-K) issues advisory about the procedures to sanitise the orchards following the harvesting season.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, Zahoor Ahmad, who teaches at SKUAST-K, said that the farmers should strictly avoid burning the foliage.

He said that the leaves should be collected and dumped in a pit while adding some urea.

“This way the fallen leaves can be easily turned into organic manure,” he said.