Punjab on Sunday reported this harvest season’s highest paddy straw burning instances –2,895 – even as their tally of 13, 124 this year remained almost half of that until the corresponding date last year, officials aware of the matter said. Nearly 28,000 instances of stubble burning were reported until October 31 last year. But there has been a significant spike in the farm fires in the state over the last three days with daily cases hovering above 1,000.
Low temperatures and stubble burning for quickly clearing fields for the next cropping season in the agrarian states of Punjab and Haryana are among the causes of deterioration in pollution levels around this time of the year in Delhi and surrounding areas.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) at Delhi’s Anand Vihar was 371 in the “very poor” category on Monday at 11am. The “very poor” air can cause respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the hourly AQI at 7am was 278 in the “poor” category. The average 24-hour AQI on Sunday was 289.
Lucknow had the worst air quality on Monday morning and it topped the chart of 10 cities with an AQI of 282 at 7am. According to the union earth science’s ministry’s System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), Delhi’s AQI was likely to improve to the upper end of “the poor” category for the next two days. There was an expected change in the wind direction to westerly/south-westerly. That was likely to reduce the emissions from stubble burning.
Air quality forecasts have suggested Delhi is headed towards an air emergency as stubble fires are expected to peak coinciding with Diwali on November 4 when pollution levels usually spike.
On Sunday, Punjab’s Tarn Taran district reported the highest – 285 – stubble burning incidents followed by Ferozepur (279), Sangrur (244), Barnala (199), Muktsar (198), Patiala (194), and Ludhiana (185).
Tarn Taran has till October 31 recorded 2,243 farm fires, the highest in Punjab against the last year’s 4,528, followed by Amritsar (1,208), Ferozepur (1,065), and Patiala (1,027).
Pathankot recorded only one farm fire incident on Sunday.
“Though it presents a rosy picture on a year-to-year basis, the overall number is likely to remain nearly same of the previous year as the harvesting this time started late and there was rain in the third week of October,” said a Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) official dealing with farm fires on condition of anonymity.
The official said the farm fires are likely to increase in the next two weeks when paddy harvest is expected to be completed in Sangrur, Barnala, and other districts in the Malwa region.
PPCB secretary Krunesh Garg said they are hoping that the farmers will respond to their call and contribute towards a safe environment by not burning paddy straw on a large scale.
The PPCB has fined nearly 3,000 farmers ₹25 lakh this year for stubble burning.