Chandigarh/Patiala: Punjab and Haryana gasped for clean air on Monday as thick post-Diwali smoke refused to dissipate, worsening air quality.Bahadurgarh, with a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 400, emerged as the most polluted city in the country after Diwali night, followed by Charkhi Dadri with an AQI of 389, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).According to CPCB readings, 15 of the 23 monitored cities in Haryana recorded severe air quality amid the overnight pollution surge. Among other cities, Bhiwani recorded an AQI of 369, Kaithal 350 and Faridabad 348.In Punjab, the steel hub of Mandi Gobindgarh in Fatehgarh Sahib district and Jalandhar emerged as the state’s worst-affected locations, with both recording an AQI of 336 by late Monday afternoon.The toxic smog comes after Punjab recorded 1,152 stubble-burning incidents on Diwali night — its highest single-day spike of the current paddy-harvesting season. The surge took the state’s cumulative farm-fire tally to 4,459 cases, surpassing the 3,622 incidents recorded during the corresponding period last year and accounting for 55% of all agricultural fires reported across seven northern states. The state was followed by Madhya Pradesh with 1,530 cases, Rajasthan with 1,221, Uttar Pradesh with 523, Uttarakhand with 196, Haryana with 175 and Delhi with two.Jalandhar’s AQI deteriorated by nearly 100 points overnight, climbing from 239 on Sunday evening to 336 on Monday. Mandi Gobindgarh peaked at a suffocating 374 during the early morning hours before settling at 336, while Ludhiana hovered around the 300 mark.Even districts that initially recorded moderate baseline readings experienced severe deterioration over the day. Amritsar’s AQI rose from 162 on Sunday to 257 by Monday afternoon, while Patiala’s increased from 164 to 221.Even the hill state of Himachal Pradesh felt the impact, with the industrial belt of Baddi recording an AQI of 344 on Monday after peaking at 376 on Diwali day.
