Day after improvement, AQI slips to ‘moderate’ as farm fires increase

BATHINDA/ SANGRUR : Air Quality Index (AQI) in various parts of Punjab again deteriorated on Wednesday after it was measured on the scale of ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ at six places. On Tuesday, AQI was calculated as ‘satisfactory’ at five out of eight continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS). Better AQI was attributed to drizzling at several parts of the state early this week and it was considered an indicator of the end of paddy stubble burning season.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed the AQI ‘poor’ (240) at Mandi Gobindgarh. Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Rupnagar and Khanna recorded ‘moderate’ AQI. Jalandhar had the best air with a ‘satisfactory’ level on a scale of 97. Data from Bathinda station was unavailable on Wednesday. With the 1358 incidents, the state on Wednesday recorded a spike in farm fire cases. The total count of farm fire incidents reached 46,822 this kharif season, the state remote sensing centre’s data showed. Muktsar Sahib has recorded maximum cases (283), followed by Fazilka (234), Bathinda (186), Moga (150) and Faridkot (139). Last year, the total number of cases till November 16, were 68, 777. With the total cases of 5216, Sangrur district has reported the maximum number of stubble burning cases this season.