Punjab records over 1,700 farm fires, 'very poor' AQI in parts of Haryana

Punjab on Tuesday reported 1,776 stubble-burning incidents, taking the total number of farm fires to 28,117 while air quality indices in Haryana and the border state were in 'poor' and 'very poor' categories.

The fresh figure indicated that the crop residue burning cases in the state have started rising again.

The state had reported 639 such cases on November 9, six on November 10, 104 on November 11, 987 on November 12 and 1,624 on November 13.

Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in Delhi in October and November.

Of the total farm fires reported on Tuesday, Bathinda saw maximum such cases at 258, followed by 253 in Barnala, 188 in Sangrur, 181 in Moga, 176 in Ferozepur and 149 each in Fazilka and Faridkot, according to Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data.

On the same day in 2021 and 2022, the state had seen 2,541 and four fires respectively.

Out of a total 28,117 farm fires recorded from September 15 till November 14, Sangrur recorded the maximum stubble burning cases of 4,961, followed by 2,554 in Ferozepur, 2,063 in Mansa, 2,061 in Bathinda and 1,916 in Tarn Taran.

Meanwhile, Haryana's Gurugram reported an air quality index (AQI) of 383, followed by 381 in Faridabad, 356 in Hisar, 340 in Narnaul, 334 in Rohtak, 321 in Kaithal, 313 in Fatehabad, 300 in Panipat, 299 in Fatehabad, 273 in Sonipat and 263 in Bhiwani.

In Punjab, Bathinda reported AQI at 391, followed by 251 in Patiala, 240 in Ludhiana, 231 in Jalandhar, 196 in Mandi Gobindgarh, 181 in Amritsar, 149 in Rupnagar and 109 in Khanna.

Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, saw an AQI of 167.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.