Delhi’s air quality fell to the moderate category on Wednesday, with the city recording an AQI of 129, as 19 stubble-burning events were detected across the six study states, including seven each in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, according to the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed the AQI in the moderate category after five days of satisfactory AQI. Of the 19 residue-burning events detected by satellites on Wednesday, four were in Madhya Pradesh and one in Haryana, according to the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute. A total of 114 residue-burning events were detected across the six states between September 15 and 30, including 59 in Punjab, 32 in Uttar Pradesh, 17 in Madhya Pradesh, three in Haryana, two in Rajasthan and one in Delhi, the data showed.
Farmers set fire to crop residue on fields to clear them before cultivating wheat and vegetables. Incidents of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana directly impact Delhi’s air quality, which battles severe air pollution every winter. Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 34.2 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degrees below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department. No rainfall was recorded in Delhi during the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Wednesday, the data showed.
