In the highest single-day seasonal spike so far, Punjab on Saturday recorded 644 farm fire incidents, pushing the cumulative total to 2,403 between April 15 and May 2.
This is more than double the number of farm fire incidents reported during the same period last year.
According to the data released by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, Punjab had reported 1,044 incidents during the same period in 2025, while the count stood at 437 in 2024.
As per the available data, Sangrur has reported the highest number of farm fire cases so far, with 285 incidents, followed by Ferozepur at 275.
Punjab has also surpassed neighbouring Haryana in cumulative cases. With 476 incidents reported over the past 24 hours, Haryana has so far recorded 2,185 farm fire cases during the season.
Last year, overall, Punjab reported 10,207 farm fire cases in April and May. Before this, the state recorded 13,420 cases in 2020, 10,100 in 2021, 14,511 in 2022, 11,353 in 2023 and 11,900 in 2024.
The figures were obtained through satellite monitoring data released by IARI.
{{/usCountry}}The figures were obtained through satellite monitoring data released by IARI.
{{/usCountry}}The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) begins monitoring farm fires from April 15, when wheat harvesting starts, and continues until May 30, when farmers begin preparing their fields for paddy sowing.
PPCB officials said that over 2,000 farm fire cases — out of the total 2,403 — were recorded over the past six days, highlighting a sudden spike.
“Wheat harvesting has picked up pace, which has led to an increase in farm fire cases. The numbers are likely to rise further in the coming days. Our teams, along with the district administration, are working on the ground to curb these incidents. We appeal to farmers to adopt in-situ methods to manage stubble,” said a senior PPCB official.
Expert warns of impact on soil health, fertility
SS Gosal, vice-chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, said farmers should adopt in-situ residue management instead of burning stubble, as it severely impacted soil health and destroyed microfauna.
Appealing to farmers to stop stubble burning, Gosal said it harmed soil micronutrients and overall fertility by destroying essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur.
Lower fodder demand fuels surge
Speaking about the rise in burning of wheat stubble, Gosal explained that farmers had reduced making fodder (tudi) from wheat residue due to multiple factors, including lower dependence on cattle farming, the higher cost of converting stubble into fodder and lower market prices.
“The dependence on fodder has reduced. Therefore, farmers have started burning wheat stubble, which was not the case a few years ago,” Gosal said.