Jalandhar: Even though the number of farm fires in Jalandhar this year is eight times less than last year, the pollution in the district has been consistently very bad. Now the question arises whether stubble burning is the only culprit behind the continuously deteriorating AQI in the district. On November 6, Jalandhar again recorded a very poor AQI level – maximum 315 (very poor) and average 168 – and 8 farm fire incidents were recorded. On November 4 too, Jalandhar recorded a very poor AQI level – maximum 373 (very poor) and average 203 (poor) – while no farm fire incident was reported that day. Last year, till November 5, 666 cases were recorded in Jalandhar, while this year only 75 farm fire incidents were recorded till November 6.
Despite this, the AQI in Jalandhar went from bad to worse, especially during the peak of air pollution starting from Diwali. November 2 was the most polluted day in both the years, with the maximum AQI being 458 on November 2 in 2023 and 500 this year. However, the average and maximum AQI in Jalandhar this year has been consistently worse than last year. This year the maximum AQI in Jalandhar was recorded on October 31 (Diwali) and November 2 – both days the maximum AQI was 500. In the same period last year, the maximum AQI was 458 on November 2. The most surprising thing is that if stubble fire is the main cause of pollution, then there should have been more pollution last year, which is not the case. When asked about the high level of pollution in the district despite the reduction in stubble burning incidents this year, Sandeep Kumar, an environmental engineer from Jalandhar, said, “Last year it rained on these days, due to which the pollution level had reduced. Also, most of the smog in the district is due to stubble fire coming from the neighbouring districts of Kapurthala, Amritsar and Tarn Taran.”
