Bathinda: Punjab again reported a spike of 214 farm fire cases on Friday, taking the count to 5,785 — the highest in the country and more than twice as that of Madhya Pradesh, which is #2 on this count. Haryana, in contrast, recorded only 11 stubble-burning cases, taking its overall count to 229.Punjab now accounts for 51% of all farm fire cases in the country. Cases have been reported from all 23 districts but five make up the bulk of the numbers — Ferozepur 794, Tarn Taran 695, Sangrur 674, Bathinda 513 and Patiala 388.Farm fires are expected to subside only after Nov 20-22. The period till Nov 15-20 is considered ideal for sowing of wheat because the temperature is favourable for the early ‘tillering phase’. With the clock ticking and nearly half of the sowing yet to take place in Punjab, farmers are in a hurry to clear the fields of crop residue. Demand for crop residue machinery is at a peak, and those who fail to get it are setting fire to heaps of stubble on their farms.With access to smartphones, farmers are aware of the possible strengthening of El Niño in the coming month. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), El Niño peak impacts are expected to begin in December and persist through Feb 2027. Under it, the usually warm and dry winter conditions threaten soil moisture and temperature thresholds critical for wheat crop, which may face heat stress during grain-filling stages.These factors are fuelling the surge in farm-fire cases in the past week as farmers rush to clear fields for sowing. The climax was seen on Diwali when the day’s farm-fire count exploded to a record 1,152.Over 95% of paddy has been harvested, yet farm fires are expected to continue for at least a fortnight till the next crop is sown.Punjab agriculture director Gurjit Singh Brar said, “Paddy harvesting is almost over and wheat sowing has crossed the 50% mark. As per Punjab Agriculture University experts, wheat sown up to the third week of November matures smoothly and we hope all sowing will be completed by Nov 20-22.”
