New Delhi: Farm fires in Punjab have jumped again, and this time the spike is hard to ignore.

Data from Punjab shows 122 stubble-burning incidents were recorded on 26 October. That is almost double the 60 cases reported on 25 October. The question now is simple and urgent: does this mean Delhi-NCR air is going to turn worse again in the next 24 hours?

This is not an academic worry. We have already seen what happens when the fires go up.

Between 19 and 22 October, when Punjab reported repeated high fire days – 67, 45, 62, 69 incidents – Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) shot into the “very poor” band. Delhi’s AQI touched the 340-350 range and stayed above 300 for days. Gurugram spiked too, hitting the 370 mark, which is deep in “very poor”.

Then there was a brief pause.

When fire counts

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