Every winter, we blame stubble. A new World Resources Institute [WRI] India working paper says we should look closer to home - at the burning pile behind our own lane.
Based on field surveys from 2019-2026 across 11 polluted Indian cities, the study finds open waste burning incidents, quantity burned and associated emissions rise to three times higher in winter than in summer. The post-monsoon atmospheric stagnation that traps PM2.5 also makes it the perfect season to light garbage - and the invisible becomes toxic.
The most damning finding is about inequality. Tier 2 cities with populations of 5 lakh to 5 million burned the highest absolute quantity. But the incidence - nearly 84 incidents per sq. km per day - was highest in poorer areas of Tier 2 cities during winter. In Tier 3 cities, it was 49.6 per day. Though open burning contributes less than 1% to citywide PM2.5 officially, its proximity to homes means short-term toxic exposure spikes.
This is a governance failure, not a seasonal one. Richer colonies get door-to-door collection; poorer settlements and peri-urban fringes don’t, so they burn. CAQM and NCAP target vehicles and industry - visible, measurable sources. Waste burning is diffuse, informal, and municipal. Until Swachh Bharat becomes about daily collection in informal colonies, not just landfill mountains, every winter will see this tripling.