Patiala, October 18
With over 2,000 farm fires being reported in Punjab, the air quality index (AQI) has gone for a toss with none of the cities reporting good or moderate AQI.
No relief
As per the data, Bathinda recorded an AQI of 219 (poor) on Tuesday, highest in Punjab, followed by Amritsar and Khanna with 162 and 161 (moderate), respectively.
After 403 incidents of stubble-burning on Monday, the state recorded another high of 342 cases on Tuesday worsening the AQI in Punjab. The total reached 2,189 on Tuesday.
According to the data collected by The Tribune, Bathinda recorded AQI at 219 on Tuesday. It was the highest in Punjab. Amritsar with 162 and Khanna with 161 also had moderate air quality — a dip from the satisfactory category — a month back. Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh and Patiala recorded AQI of 154, 143 and 126, respectively.
Tarn Taran recorded highest number of 122 farm fires followed by Gurdaspur and Amritsar which recorded 47 and 46 cases, respectively.
“This clearly shows that the burning of paddy residue is having a direct impact on the worsening air quality and it will further take a hit with smoke emanating from Punjab fields,” said health experts.
“There are no chances of rain for the next few days and the dust gathering in the air will lead to deterioration in air quality,” they said.
In Punjab, eight cities — Khanna, Ludhiana, Dera Bassi, Gobindgarh, Jalandhar, Naya Nangal, Pathankot and Patiala — have been labelled the worst when it comes to air quality, according to a report. Depleting forest cover in the state has further added to the woes.
