The air quality in parts of Haryana was recorded in the “very poor’’ category while it was reported to be in “poor’’ category in Punjab, on Wednesday.
According to pollution control boards of the two states, the reasons behind the same included the extended Diwali celebrations across the two states and stubble burning in some parts. The officials, nonetheless, held that there has been a drastic drop in the incidence of farm fires compared to previous years in the two states.
The farmers burn the stubble after harvesting the paddy crop in October and November – a practice which is blamed for the rise in air pollution – as the October-to-December window for sowing the rabi crop – wheat – is short.
The air quality index (AQI) at Dharuhera industrial town of Haryana’s Rewari district topped the list of polluted areas with 382, according to Central Pollution Control Board information. It may be recalled that an AQI between 0 to 50 is considered “good’’, between 51 and 100, “satisfactory’’, 101 and 200, “moderate’’, 201 and 300, “poor’’, 301 and 400, “very poor’’, 401 and 450 “severe’’ and above 450, “severe pluss’’.
Likewise, Haryana’s Narnaul and Jind recorded “very poor’’ with an AQI of 367, while several areas with “very poor’’ air quality included Charkhi Dadri, 362, Rohtak, 358, Yamunanagar, 347, Fatehabad, 320 and Ballabhgarh, 318.
The places with “poor’’ AQI included Bahadurgarh, Gurugram, Karnal, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra and Sonepat.
In Punjab, the Mandi Gobindgarh industrial town in Fatehgarh Sahib district, topped the list with an AQI of 295, Jalandhar, 268, Amritsar and Ludhiana, 243, Khanna, 241 and Ropar and Patiala, 234, each.
