Chandigarh, Oct 21 (IANS) After Diwali, the air quality in most parts of Punjab and Haryana dropped to the ‘severe’ and ‘hazardous’ categories on Tuesday.

According to AQI.in, a platform monitoring air quality index (AQI), Chandigarh recorded “poor” air quality at 146. 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’, 401 and 450 ‘severe’ and above 450 ‘severe plus’.

In Punjab, the AQI was registered at 209 in Ludhiana, 225 in Amritsar, 198 in Jalandhar, 242 in Bathinda and 233 in Patiala. In another agrarian state, the AQI in Faridabad was 247 and 343 in Sonipat, 201 in Karnal, 328 in Bhiwani, 247 in Jind and 279 in Charkhi Dadri. Both Punjab and Haryana have been blamed for the rise in air pollution levels owing to farm fires.

However, this year both Punjab and Haryana recorded much fewer farm fires compared to the previous years. Punjab reported 45 incidents of stubble burning on Monday, a slight decrease from the record 67 farm fires reported on October 19, the highest so far this season.

Tarn Taran and Amritsar districts accounted for the majority of such cases, according to the Punjab Pollution Control Board data.

Haryana saw 30 farm fire cases till October 17, compared to 601 incidents during the same period last year. The corresponding figures were 546 in 2023, 330 in 2022, and 1,026 in 2021, a consistent decline in the stubble burning practice.

As per district-wise data, Jind has reported the highest number of cases (nine), followed by Sirsa and Sonepat with four each, Faridabad (three) and Kaithal, Panipat, and Yamunanagar (two each).

Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is often blamed for the rise in air pollution in Delhi-NCR. A pollution expert blamed the spike in AQI in Chandigarh to winds circulating over Punjab and Haryana, carrying pollution from nearby areas, that passed through Chandigarh.

–IANS

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