Fewer farm fire incidents in Punjab, Haryana this Oct

Incidents of farm fires, which are often blamed for increased pollution in the National Capital Region during winter, have reduced this year, according to experts at the Indian Institutes of Technology, though the air quality index for the region has deteriorated in the past few days.

Measures like outreach programmes, increased farmer engagement, adoption of greener technologies for stubble disposal, corporate initiatives and government (both central and state) involvement have helped, they said. The farm fire count is about one-third this October (until Monday) compared with the same month last year in Punjab and Haryana, the two main stubble burning states in the North.

In Punjab, the number of incidents has reduced to 1,411 this October from 3,935 in October 2022. In Haryana, it has come down to 899 from 2,387, according to researchers at IIT Kanpur.

"The coordination between the Commission for Air Quality Management and states like Punjab and Haryana to curb the air quality issue has helped. There is some progress this year as the fire count is down to about 30% compared to last year in these two states," said professor Sachchida Nand Tripathi, who specialises in air quality and sustainability at IIT-Kanpur and is a member of the steering committee of the National Clean Air Programme.

Sagnik Dey, chair professor at the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, IIT Delhi, said: "This (the fall) is due to multiple measures taken at local, state and central level and not to forget the cooperation of companies."