Every year for decades, long rivers of smoke and haze have spread across the Indo-Gangetic Plain in northern India from October to December. That’s when farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states burn off plant “stubble” after the rice harvest.
When winds are weak and the atmosphere becomes stagnant, the haze can push levels of air pollution several times higher than limits recommended by the World Health Organization. Smoke typically mixes with particles and gases from other sources, such as industry, vehicles, domestic fires (heating and cooking), fireworks and dust storms, to form the haze, though scientists consider stubble burning to be a major factor.
The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of a smoky haze darkening skies over much of the plain on Nov, 11, 2025. According to news reports, it was the first of several days in 2025 when pollution levels exceeded 400 on India’s air quality index, the strongest rating on the scale. As in past years, the poor air quality prompted officials in some areas to close schools and institute more stringent air quality controls on construction.
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview.
