Punjab’s air quality ‘better’ than neighbours Delhi, Haryana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 1

Punjab fares much better in terms of the air quality index (AQI) than neighbouring Haryana and Delhi and can’t be squarely blamed for the poor air quality, said a state government functionary.

Pollution in Delhi, especially from October to December, has been increasingly blamed on the fires put to the paddy residue in the fields of northern states, specifically Punjab.

The spokesperson said there were six continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations in Punjab — one each at Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Khanna, Mandi Gobindgarh and Patiala.

A comparison of data (on average basis) of these stations with those in Haryana’s cities bordering the national capital, including Gurugram, Panipat, Sonepat, Faridabad and Rohtak, and in Delhi, suggested in August and September (2018-2020), the average AQI of Punjab remained within 50 to 87.

The average AQI in Delhi during the same period ranged between 63 and 118. In Haryana’s cities (2019-2020) and Faridabad (2020), the average AQI ranged from 67 to 115.