As per the evening bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Haryana continued to breathe poor air with 4 cities recording ‘very poor’ air quality and 13 cities recording ‘poor air’ quality.
The cities under ‘very poor’ included Ballabhgarh, Jind, Panipat and Sonepat and 13 cities under ‘poor air’ quality were Bhiwani, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Rohtak, Faridabad, Hisar and Sirsa.
The data till Saturday evening include, Panipat (377), Sonepat (333), Ballabhgarh (325), and Jind (303) were among the cities with ‘very poor’ air quality, while Bahadurgarh (296), Bhiwani (294), Charkhi Dadri (289), Kaithal (288), Faridabad (285), Karnal (277), Rohtak (269), Gurugram (265), Sirsa (261), Kurukshetra (254), Hisar (240), Dharuhera (226) and Manesar (223) were among the cities with 'poor' air quality.
Meanwhile, there were cities like Ambala, Panchkula, Mandi Khera, Fatehabad, and Palwal with an index value of 100, 153, 120, 114, and 105, respectively, which recorded moderate air quality.
The state reported 53 fresh farm fires on Saturday, taking the total number of stubbles burning to 1,263 in the season. The latest figures came in from Sirsa (20), Jind (16), four from Rohtak, Jhajjar and Fatehabad reported three each, and two each from Panipat, Hisar, and Ambala and one from Karnal.
Experts say that sporadic rainfall and continued exposure to farm fires have made Haryana reel under significant environmental challenges.
Dr Dipti Grover, Assistant Professor, Institute of Environmental Studies, Kurukshetra University, said, “Haryana is grappling with significant environmental challenges, particularly in the domains of air quality and weather conditions, which are closely interlinked because of winter. Meteorological factors, such as low temperatures, calm winds, and temperature inversion are trapping pollutants near the ground, worsening the air quality.”
She added, “Sporadic rainfall patterns in the past months have contributed to increased dryness in the atmosphere, further limiting pollutant dispersion. Prolonged exposure to such conditions poses serious health risks, including respiratory issues, cardiovascular diseases, and long-term effects on vulnerable populations, like children and the elderly.”
Haryana State Pollution Control Board senior environment engineer, Nirmal Kashyap, further said, “Topographic and meteorological conditions play a major part in air quality during this particular period of the year. Construction activities have been banned and various other directions have been implemented for industries under GRAP. Sprinkling is being done and the overall situation is gradually improving. There is a hearing in the Supreme Court on Monday, and the court directions will be implemented.”
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