Punjab on Sunday registered 599 instances of farm fires, lowest since October 25and over 4 occasions lower than what was reported the day past. On Saturday, the state had reported 2,817 lively farm hearth occasions whereas the quantity was 181 on October 25.

The thick layer of smog which had enveloped Punjab was additionally dispersed by robust winds. “As the wind speed picked up pace, farmers were reluctant to set stubble ablaze as it may lead to accidental fires in nearby fields. Thus, the number of farm fires saw a decline,” mentioned an agriculture division official.

The air high quality index (AQI), nonetheless, remained in ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ class at three key stations on the weekend.

Data from Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) on Sunday confirmed solely two districts with greater than 100 fires and highest 130 had been from Mansa.

Sangrur, which had been topping the fireplace occasion chart since October 28, witnessed solely 108 instances on Sunday. It was adopted by Patiala (54), Muktsar (43), Barnala (41) and Fazilka (40).

As per the PRSC information, Bathinda recorded 36 hearth occasions, however its AQI remained in ‘very poor’ class on the second consecutive day. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) information calculated Bathinda’s common AQI at 306, which was highest in Punjab. After sunshine in mornings, the district witnessed hazy circumstances for many a part of the weekend.

The air high quality of Amritsar and Ludhiana was additionally ‘poor’ on a scale of 245 and 241, respectively.

However, steady ambient air high quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) in Jalandhar, Khanna, Mandi Gobindgarh, Patiala and Rupnagar confirmed ‘moderate’ situation.

Out of 23 districts, Punjab is provided to audit AQI at solely eight locations in six districts.

Season’s tally reaches 29,999

With 599 instances of stubble burning, this 12 months’s kharif season tally in Punjab reached 29,999. On the identical day (November 6) in 2020, 3,858 lively hearth occasions had been captured by satellites whereas the quantity was 3,942 in 2021.

The complete variety of hearth occasions until November 6 was 32,734 final 12 months, which was considerably lower than 52,980 instances recorded until November 6, 2020.