New Delhi: Punjab’s stubble burning count has crossed last year’s level for the corresponding period. Satellite monitoring has detected 174 fire events between Sept 15 and Oct 13 this year, against 134 in the same period last year.The latest daily tally also saw a sharp spike. Fifty-one farm fire events were detected on Oct 13, according to a bulletin issued by ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute’s CREAMS Lab.The cumulative count is nearly 30% higher than last year’s figure for the same period, raising concerns about pollution as the paddy harvesting season gathers pace in Punjab.The Oct 13 tally was also the highest daily count recorded in the state in the 2026 monitoring period covered by the bulletin.Harvesting is progressing faster than last year. According to the latest state figures from ICAR for Oct 12, around 5 lakh hectares, or 16% of Punjab’s total paddy area of 31.76 lakh hectares, were harvested, compared to 12% at this time last year.District-level figures show that the paddy burning events remain concentrated in the key growing areas. Amritsar recorded 77 cumulative events between Sept 15 and Oct 13, up from 65 in the corresponding period of 2025.Tarn Taran reported 61 events, compared with 27 last year. On Oct 13, the two districts recorded 16 and 21 events, respectively, accounting for a substantial share of the day’s statewide tally.Amritsar has also emerged as the district with the fastest harvesting progress, with 65% of its sown paddy area harvested as of Oct 12. Tarn Taran had harvested 34% of its area, while Pathankot and Kapurthala had recorded 22% each.The harvesting and paddy burning figures together point to a critical phase for stubble management, as farmers try to catch the short window between winter and summer crops.As the harvesting window advances, the rise in Punjab’s farm fires could add to Delhi’s winter pollution, but the actual contribution will depend on wind direction, speed and other weather conditions.In Nov 2025, stubble burning contributed an average of 7% to Delhi’s air pollution, down from 20% in Nov 2024, according to an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).Overall, the net contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s PM2.5 was less in 2025 as the share of farm fires in Delhi’s air quality surpassed 10% on just eight days, including over 20% on only one day.However, Delhi’s PM2.5 levels nearly doubled from Oct to Nov 2025, due to other major emission sources within the city, such as vehicles, industries and dust.CAQM, earlier this year, set a target of eliminating paddy stubble burning in 2026 and recently deployed flying squads across 18 districts of Punjab and in 16 of Haryana from Oct 1 to Nov 30.It is also reviewing drone surveillance, promoting crop-residue management machinery and strengthening field monitoring and enforcement.
