Air quality ‘poor’ in large parts of Punjab, Haryana; Chandigarh ‘very poor’

This comes a day after Punjab reported 730 farm fire cases, the highest single-day spike this season. The state’s farm fire tally now stands at 6,029.

The air quality in several parts of Punjab and Haryana was recorded in the ‘poor’ category on Saturday, while it was the worst in the joint capital Chandigarh with an AQI of 322 which falls in the ‘very poor’ band.

The rise in air pollution levels in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi during this time of year is often blamed on farm fires. (HT File/Representational image)

This comes a day after Punjab reported 730 farm fire cases, the highest single-day spike this season. The state’s farm fire tally now stands at 6,029.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s Sameer App, which provides hourly updates, Haryana’s Bahadugarh recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 314 -- also in the ‘very poor’ category -- at 9 am.

The AQI at Haryana’s Sonepat was 290, Hisar (285), Bhiwani (277), Jind (275), Charkhi Dadri (258), Gurugram (259), Faridabad (220), Yamunanagar (213), Rohtak (238), Kurukshetra (202), Kaithal (205), Fatehabad (198), Ambala (160), Sirsa (181), and Karnal (144).

In Punjab, the AQI was registered at 264 in Mandi Gobindgarh, 258 in Amritsar, 257 in Rupnagar, 248 in Jalandhar, 197 in Ludhiana, 183 in Bathinda, 176 in Khanna, and 133 in Patiala.

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’.

The rise in air pollution levels in the two states and Delhi during this time of year is often blamed on farm fires.

As the window for the rabi crop -- wheat -- is very short after paddy harvest, some farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue for sowing of the next crop.