Back to news
8 Jun 2017 | Atmosphere Initiative

Emissions Study to Differentiate Characteristics of Paddy and Wheat Crop Residue Burning

As part of an Atmosphere Initiative research, Manisha Mehra, a research associate at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the 2016 recipient of the Atmosphere Initiative PhD Fellowship, is undertaking an emissions study in Lumbini to analyze the effects of agricultural crop residue burning.

Mehra travelled to Lumbini, in the Terai region of Nepal, to collect samples of emissions resulting from the burning of wheat residue in fields in April 2017. The first round of fieldwork for the study, where samples of emissions from the post-harvest burning of paddy were collected, was conducted in November 2016.

0 mins Read

70% Complete
Collecting samples of wheat residue burning in Lumbini. Photo: Sujan Shrestha/ICIMOD

Mehra collected wheat residue samples from the same districts, Kapilvastu and Rupendehi, where she had collected the paddy residue samples in 2016. She explains that the wheat residue, unlike paddy residue, is extensively used as cattle fodder and in paper mills. Therefore, there is less burning of wheat residue than of paddy residue.

The study is an attempt to differentiate the characteristics of paddy and wheat residue burning emissions. The experimental setup was exactly the same for both wheat and paddy residue burning campaigns.

Details about Mehra’s study and her previous fieldwork are available here.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

29 Jan 2016 News
Developing PES Policy

ICIMOD has been actively engaged in Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) policy formulation support with Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation ...

11 Aug 2015 News
Experts stress need for collaboration to protect the natural heritage of earthquake-affected areas of Nepal

Over 50 experts and conservation practitioners from the region stressed the need for greater collaboration to overcome the socio-ecological impacts ...

30 Oct 2018 Cryosphere
Collaborative research on the Ponkar Glacier with Kathmandu University

The team conducted measurements at the lower parts of the glacier to quantify ice melt amount under debris layers and ...

18 Aug 2020 News
Larger glaciers in the Hindu Kush are behaving like glaciers in the Karakorum

Findings from a recent study show that the larger glaciers in the Hindu Kush region of ...

9 Sep 2016 HICAP
HICAP China Synthesis Writeshop

Aspects related to climate change and other drivers of change in the Salween and Mekong basins and in the Tibetan ...

15 Jun 2016 News
HKH Partnership to Foster Regional Solidarity

The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) Partnership for Sustainable Mountain Development was launched during a ministerial-level panel discussion organized on 24 ...

27 Jul 2016 News
Bringing Nature into the National Curriculum

A half-day workshop to explore how nature camp and environmental issues could be better incorporated within the National Education System ...

28 Jan 2016 KSL
China, India, and Nepal Keen on Creating a Trans-boundary UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Kailash Sacred Landscape

There is interest in creating a transboundary.United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site (UNESCO WHS). in the ...