Air quality ‘poor’ in large parts of Punjab, Haryana; ‘very poor’ Chandigarh

Sat Nov 09 06:18:49 UTC 2024: ## Air Quality Plunges to ‘Very Poor’ in Chandigarh, Several Cities in Punjab and Haryana

**Chandigarh, November 9, 2024:** Air quality in several parts of Punjab and Haryana reached “poor” levels on Saturday, with Chandigarh recording a “very poor” AQI of 322.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s Sameer app, Bahadugarh in Haryana also recorded a “very poor” AQI of 314. Other cities in Haryana experiencing poor air quality included Sonipat, Hisar, Bhiwani, Jind, Charkhi Dadri, Gurugram, Faridabad, Yamunanagar, Rohtak, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Fatehabad, Ambala, Sirsa, and Karnal.

Punjab saw poor air quality in Mandi Gobindgarh, Amritsar, Rupnagar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Khanna, and Patiala.

The worsening air quality is attributed to farm fires, particularly in Punjab, where 730 incidents were reported on Friday. The total number of farm fires in the state this season has reached 6,029. Farmers are often forced to burn crop residue to quickly prepare their fields for the next planting season, which leads to a significant increase in air pollution.