Stubble burning incidents have shot up in Punjab over the last few days with farmers apparently defying the ban as only a little time is left now for sowing wheat, officials said.
With about 30 per cent of paddy area still to be harvested and Diwali approaching, the coming week is going to be "crucial" for the state, they said.
Though the total number of stubble burning incidents this year was about 25 per cent lesser than last year, the state has witnessed sharp rise in farm waste burning cases in the last few days, they added.
The ideal period for wheat sowing is considered to be between October 25 and November 15.
According to data provided by Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Center, the fire incidents recorded in Punjab were 991 (October 25), 1,296 (October 26), 2,111 (October 27) and 3,162 (October 28). On October 31 and November 1, the number of fire incidents was 2,618 and 3,353 respectively.
The fire incidents on November 1 were highest in this season in Punjab.
On Thursday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had blamed stubble burning in Punjab for rising pollution levels in the national capital and claimed that the situation aggravated after October 25.
However, Punjab recorded a total of 21,013 stubble burning incidents between September 26 till November 1 as against 28,056 in corresponding period of the last year, showing about 25 per cent decline this year.
"At present, the situation is looking difficult. The number of fire incidents has gone up in the last few days in the state," Punjab Remote Sensing Centre Director Brijendra Pateriya said on Friday.