Punjab records 270 cases of farm fires, count nears 10k
The cases were recorded in 21 of the total 23 districts in the state. On Monday, as many as 1,251 cases of stubble burning, highest in this Kharif season, were recorded.
A day after recording the season’s highest spike, the farm fire events dropped to 270 in Punjab on Tuesday, taking the state’s total count to 9,925.
The cases were recorded in 21 of the total 23 districts in the state. On Monday, as many as 1,251 cases of stubble burning, highest in this Kharif season, were recorded.
On November 8, the state reported 730 farm fire incidents, which was the highest in a day this season till Monday.
Moga district recorded 33 cases followed by 31 in Muktsar, 27 in Bathinda, 24 in Sangrur and 22 each in Faridkot, Ludhiana and Tarn Taran districts.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, Amritsar remained most polluted with an air quality index (AQI) of 291, which falls under the ‘poor’ category, followed by 256 in Khanna, 227 each in Jalandhar and Ludhiana, 222 in Patiala, 158 in Bathinda, 118 in Rupnagar and 116 in Mandi Gobindgarh.
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution in the northern region in October and November. As the window for rabi crop wheat is very short after the paddy harvest, farmers set their fields on fire to quickly get rid of crop residue for sowing the next crop.
