Chandigarh, November 7: Punjab has recorded 3,144 stubble-burning incidents so far this paddy season, crossing the 3,000 mark, India Today reported, in a report carried by News89 on Saturday. The figure was independently corroborated by CPCB data reported by AirNews, which said Punjab's cumulative tally since September 15 stands at 3,144 — the highest among the states it tracked, ahead of Madhya Pradesh at 1,220 and Rajasthan at 1,097.

Source: India Today via News89

AirNews, citing Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data captured at 6.05 a.m. on November 7, said 589 stubble-burning incidents were recorded across seven north Indian states and Union Territories on November 6 alone, and Punjab accounted for 357 of them. That single-day Punjab figure takes the season total from the previous reported 2,787 to exactly 3,144. NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) satellite imagery corroborated the ground reports, AirNews said.

Source: AirNews (CPCB data)

Tarn Taran still leads the districts

District-wise, Tarn Taran continues to lead Punjab with 611 cases, up from 586 in the previous report, and fines of Rs 13.30 lakh have been imposed there, India Today reported. Ferozepur, Sangrur and Amritsar also recorded significant numbers, the report said, without giving their updated district figures in the summary carried by News89. In the previous Punjab Pollution Control Board report, up to November 5, Ferozepur stood at 361, Sangrur at 240, Amritsar at 221 and Bathinda at 216.

Compensation cases rise to 1,077

On enforcement, India Today reported that environmental compensation totalling Rs 54.55 lakh has now been imposed in 1,077 cases — up from Rs 46.10 lakh in 914 cases in the previous report. The latest summary did not give an updated FIR total; the previous report had recorded 710 FIRs under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Those enforcement figures are reported here as India Today's account; the season total of 3,144 itself is confirmed by both India Today and the CPCB data carried by AirNews.

Delhi air stays severe in pockets ahead of Diwali

The fires are adding to Delhi's pollution load a day before Diwali. CPCB readings on Saturday morning put the Air Quality Index at 442 at IIT Delhi and 433 at Punjabi Bagh, with Mundka at 421, Rohini at 418 and RK Puram at 417 — all in the severe category — according to CPCB data reported by AirNews and TezzBuzz. The Commission for Air Quality Management had already invoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR on November 6 as the capital's average AQI rose to 382.

Source: TezzBuzz (CPCB data)

What happens next

Harvesting was already 87.60 per cent complete by November 5, according to the Punjab Pollution Control Board, so the remaining days of the paddy harvest will decide the season's final total. The next daily fire counts will show whether the 357 fires recorded on November 6 were a one-day spike or the start of a heavier final stretch, and whether compensation, FIRs and red entries in revenue records slow the burning as Delhi heads into Diwali under GRAP Stage III curbs.