Haryana is witnessing 24 new cases of stubble burning

With 24 new cases of farm fires reported in Haryana on Saturday, the number of stubble burning cases in the state has risen to 959.

Of the 24 new cases, a maximum of seven cases were reported from Jind district, followed by six from Fatehabad, two each from Bhiwani, Kaithal and Sirsa, and one each from Sonepat, Palwal, Karnal, Faridabad and Ambala.

Pollutants floating in the air

The air flow has almost stopped causing pollutants to linger. Conditions are likely to remain due to current climatic conditions and activities taking place. The situation may improve if the wind speed improves.

–Dr. Dipti Grover, Assistant Professor, Institute of Environmental Studies, Kurukshetra University

Of the 959 cases in the state, Kaithal reported the maximum (170), followed by Kurukshetra (130), Fatehabad (93), Jind (91), Karnal (85), Ambala (83), Sonepat (53), Sirsa (49 ), Faridabad (41), Palwal (37), Yamunanagar (35), Panipat (31), Hisar (25), Panchkula (18), Rohtak (12), Jhajjar (4) and Bhiwani (2). The situation so far seems better than last year. According to the data, 1,676 farm fire cases were reported during the same period last year. A gradual decrease in the number of farm fires has been observed over the past four years.

In the meantime, air quality remains a concern. The air quality in Bahadurgarh was recorded as ‘very poor’ on Saturday. In 14 other cities of Haryana, the situation was on the poor side as per the air quality index (AQI, the average of the last 24 hours) of the Central Pollution Control Board.

According to the CPCB’s evening bulletin, Bahadurgarh’s air quality was recorded as ‘very poor’ (305), followed by Charkhi Dadri (292), Manesar (280), Jind (276), Dharuhera (261), Sonepat (260), Gurugram (252), Hisar (247), Bhiwani (238), Panchkula (237), Rohtak (229), Yamunanagar (226), Faridabad (204), Kurukshetra (204) and Fatehabad (203).

Besides the sporadic incidents of farm fires, changes in climatic conditions and local factors, including road dust and industrial emissions, are also to blame.

Meanwhile, Dr Dipti Grover, assistant professor at the Institute of Environmental Studies, Kurukshetra University, said: “The air flow has almost stopped, causing the pollutants to linger and not move. Conditions are likely to remain due to current climatic conditions and activities taking place. The situation may improve if the wind speed improves.”