Mandi Gobindgarh’s air quality worst in Punjab
BATHINDA: The Air Quality Index (AQI) dipped from ‘moderate’ to ‘very poor’ in Mandi Gobindgarh, while many places across Punjab also registered a dip in air quality on Thursday. The state registered 966 incidents of paddy stubble burning today.
According to Centre Pollution Control Board, Mandi Gobindgarh had the worst AQI of 328 on the scale tagged as ‘very poor’.
Bathinda had a moderate AQI at the value of 199, just two notches below the ‘poor’ category. Six other continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations also registered AQI of moderate level. Jalandhar reported an AQI of 189 (moderate), a dip from 93 (satisfactory) on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data said Fazilka topped the chart of farm fires with 221 cases on Thursday.
The total farm fires this Kharif season reached 47,788. Muktsar recorded 188 farm fires, followed by 107 in Moga and 102 each in Bathinda and Faridkot. Amritsar recorded just a single fire event, and 11 other districts also registered cases of farm fires.