Farm fires hit 2-week low as winds dissuade farmers

According to officials of the Punjab agricultural department, farmers did not set their crop residue on fire, worrying that the strong winds may cause the blazes to spread to neighbouring fields or accidentally cause freshly sown crops to catch fire.

Punjab on Sunday registered 599 farm fires, the fewest in a day since October 25 this year and around one-fourth the number logged on Saturday (2,817), as strong winds kept cultivators wary of setting their paddy stubble ablaze.

Data from Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) on Sunday showed only two districts with more than 100 fires, the largest number–130–was in Mansa. (Photos by Sanjeev Kumar/ Hindustan Times)

According to officials of the Punjab agricultural department, farmers did not set their crop residue on fire, worrying that the strong winds may cause the blazes to spread to neighbouring fields or accidentally cause freshly sown crops to catch fire.

“As wind speed picked up pace, farmers were reluctant to set stubble ablaze as it could have led to accidental fires in nearby fields. Thus, the number of farm fires saw a decline,” said the official, requesting anonymity.

While the strong winds helped dissipate the thick smog in the region, the air quality index (AQI) was still recorded in the ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ categories by three key air quality monitoring stations on the weekend.

During winter, smoke from farm fires in Punjab and Haryana can contribute to over 40% of Delhi’s PM2.5 levels, pushing the Capital into an air emergency. A change in wind direction towards the city, or stronger local winds, can clear up the air to some extent, as it has over the weekend.

Sangrur, which had recorded the most number of farm fires since October 28, witnessed 108 cases on Sunday. It was followed by Patiala (54), Muktsar (43), Barnala (41) and Fazilka (40).

According to data from Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), Bathinda recorded 36 farm fires, but the AQI remained in the ‘very poor’ category for the second consecutive day at 306, the worst reading in Punjab, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. The air quality of Amritsar and Ludhiana was also ‘poor’ at 245 and 241, respectively.

However, continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) in Jalandhar, Khanna, Mandi Gobindgarh, Patiala and Rupnagar recorded ‘moderate’ AQI readings.

Of its 23 districts, Punjab is equipped to audit AQI at only eight places in six districts.

With 599 cases of stubble burning on Sunday, this year’s kharif season tally in Punjab has risen to 29,999.