Stubble burning continues in Punjab as Air Quality Index in Delhi-NCR oscillates between the 'very poor' and 'severe' categories, as reported by the news agency ANI.
The incidents of stubble burning in Punjab this year have become a matter of grave concern with the Union Environment Ministry pointing out that the AQI is likely to sharply deteriorate as only about 45-50 percent of sown area in the state had been harvested till October 24.
With an Air Quality Index of 364 on Thursday, Delhi continues to stay in the 'very poor' category while many other parts in the NCR region are in a severe category.
Currently, AQI is at 393 in Uttar Pradesh's Noida in the 'Very Poor' category, 318 in Haryana's Gurugram in the 'Very Poor' category, and 333 near Delhi Airport T3 in the 'Very Poor' category.
The contribution of stubble burning to the adverse air quality in Delhi and the National Capital Region has been increasing sharply and is about 18-20 percent currently. The trend is only likely to increase further, ANI reported citing sources in the Environment Ministry.
According to the Standard ISRO Protocol, for the period of September 15-October 28 this year, a total of 10,214 paddy residue burning events have been reported in Punjab compared to 7,648 for the same period during the last year, which is a significant increase of about 33.5 percent.
Under directions of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a comprehensive Action Plan was prepared by the Punjab government, with major pillars of action such as diversification to other crops, diversification to low straw generating and early maturing paddy varieties; In-situ crop residue management; Bio-decomposer application; Ex-situ crop residue management; IEC activities; Monitoring and effective enforcement.
(With ANI Inputs)