No let-up: Air quality continues to be in ‘poor’ bracket in Punjab, Haryana

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 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.

Commuters struggle to make their way amid smog in Amritsar on Saturday (HT Photo)

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.

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.