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Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana on the rise, likely to deteriorate Delhi's air quality

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR, the effective stubble fire counts of Haryana and Punjab have increased from 1654 to 2577 in the past 24 hours after showing a noticeable dip on October 27.

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As Delhi and its nearby areas such as Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad continue to grapple with deteriorating air quality post-Diwali, stubble plume from north-west regions of the country has become one of the significant contributors to the air pollution in the national capital.

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR, the effective stubble fire counts of Haryana and Punjab have increased from 1654 to 2577 in the past 24 hours after showing a noticeable dip on October 27.

Despite the central government issuing strict directions to Haryana and Punjab last week to stop stubble burning completely, the number of farm fires has increased. 

An increased stubble fire count won't affect Delhi's air quality unless the meteorological conditions (in particular wind direction towards Delhi and its speed along with ventilation potential locally) are favorable for the intrusion. As of today, the wind direction is northwesterly and hence favorable for plume transport, the agency has warned.

As per the  SAFAR-multi-satellite fire product, the stubble share may touch this year's peak value (~29%) on October 30.

The agency has also said that surface winds are not stagnant since yesterday and flushing out pollutants but they are likely to be slowing down during stable night hours helping accumulation. 

AQI is forecasted to be at the higher-end of very poor category for the next two days with few touching higher levels. An increase in boundary layer wind speed is expected by November 1 which is likely to bring improvement in AQI.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'. Above 500 is 'severe-plus emergency' category.

Delhi was left reeling under 'very poor' pollution levels after Diwali celebrations which saw people bursting crackers to mark the occasion. Though the quality of air was better than the last three years, the condition has come down to its worst phase due to strong winds.

There is a layer of smog in Delhi's atmosphere which as reduced visibility. The condition in some part of NCR is worse as the AQI is in the 'Hazardous' category.

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