Sandwiched between Delhi on its south-east and Pakistan’s Lahore on its west, Punjab is caught in a political crossfire and is being blamed for the poor air quality in the two cities, considered among the most polluted globally.While the BJP-led Delhi government has blamed the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab for failing to control stubble burning by farmers, West Punjab provincial government’s environment minister Marriyam Aurangzeb has also pinned the blame on East Punjab for “smoke from large-scale fireworks” travelling due to “wind direction” for Lahore’s “severe” AQI.However, even as both Lahore and Delhi blamed Punjab for its poor AQI, both cities recorded higher average pollution levels post-Diwali than Punjab. In Punjab, the average AQI across 6 major cities on November 9, a day after Diwali, was recorded at 287 (poor). In Lahore, the post-Diwali AQI on Monday touched the highest 648 (severe/hazardous) from 9 to 10 am and the average was 489. In Delhi, the average was 370 (very poor), as per the official data, and crossed 400 at 8 stations.So can stubble burning or fireworks in Punjab pollute both Delhi and Lahore air?Experts said that while pollutants can travel in all directions depending on the wind speed and direction, Punjab alone cannot be held responsible for the severe pollution levels in Delhi, which remains polluted throughout the year due to its own multiple sources of pollutants. The problem only escalates around Diwali due to firecrackers and stubble burning.They added that this time, however, Punjab’s stubble burning had a negligent role in Delhi’s AQI touching 376 on Diwali day, the worst in the past five years.Prof (Dr) Gufran Beig, chair professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and founder, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), said, “The life of particulate matter is 2-3 days; it increases as it goes up in atmosphere vertically. Particulate matter can travel in both directions depending on wind speed and direction. However, this Diwali, the direction of the wind towards Delhi was easterly and south-easterly, not the usual north-westerly where Punjab is located. So Punjab’s contribution to Delhi’s poor air is negligible or nearly zero this year.”Delhi’s poor AQI was mainly due to its own issues, catalysed by firecrackers load, said Dr Beig, adding, “Experts in Lahore need to analyse the origin point of winds that reached the city and it is unlikely to be from Indian-side Punjab.”Story continues below this adManoj Kumar, analyst, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a Finland-based non-profit think-tank researching on energy and air pollution, said, “Stubble burning ends in November, so what is polluting Delhi throughout the year? The original sources for Delhi’s pollution are industries, power plants, vehicles, residential fuel combustion, dust from heavy constructions etc and these issues are not being properly addressed. Stubble burning in Punjab happens just for a few weeks in November so it is an episode. Similarly, Diwali firecrackers are just for three days. But Delhi’s AQI remains in the poor or very poor category even in December and January. The spike in Delhi’s AQI which we see around Diwali is from moderate to very poor or severe category. Delhi is never in a good or satisfactory category.”Kumar cautions that Punjab recording lower average AQI post Diwali (287) than Delhi (370) and Lahore (489) could be a “false hope.” “We should be very cautious while interpreting that Punjab is cleaner than Delhi and Lahore. Punjab is probably having less number of AQI monitoring stations, and their locations matter too. We need more and more stations to get an actual picture. Ludhiana’s Industrial Area is where they should have more stations.”Surender Paul, director, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Chandigarh, said: “Winds aren’t so strong that all of Punjab’s pollutants move to Delhi. Rain and thunderstorms are expected in Punjab from November 11 to 13 and the AQI will improve.”Lahore to Delhi: Political slugfest over poor airIn Pakistan, (West) Punjab environment minister Marriyam Aurangzeb in a post on X on Diwali night, blamed “fine particles released by large-scale fireworks across the border during Diwali” for Lahore’s poor AQI. She said that Lahore’s AQI on November 7 was 272, which increased to 335 on Diwali (November 8).Story continues below this adA day after Diwali on November 9, Aurangzeb in a post on X said, “Polluted air coming from Indian cities—Bathinda, Jalandhar, Firozpur, Ludhiana, Khem Karan, Amritsar, Fazilka and Tarn Taran—through the eastern corridor had raised Lahore’s AQI”.Speaking to The Indian Express over phone, Aurangzeb said: “Smog knows no borders. Lahore and Delhi share one airshed, where air pollution travels beyond international borders. This Diwali, fireworks, combined with easterly winds and stagnant atmospheric conditions, coincided with a sharp deterioration in Lahore’s air quality. Lahore’s reported AQI surged from 272 before Diwali to 489 after Diwali, an increase of 217 points, or nearly 80%, highlighting the serious impact of regional pollution under unfavorable weather conditions. We urge authorities on the Indian side of Punjab to consider climate friendly restrictions on conventional fireworks and promote cleaner alternatives. Tackling transboundary pollution requires regional cooperation and shared responsibility.”Meanwhile, Delhi labour minister and BJP leader Kapil Mishra Monday, suggesting a conspiracy against farmers, questioned how the number of farm fires in Punjab, which ranged between 100 and 125 daily between November 5 and 7, suddenly rose to around 1,200 locations on Diwali evening.However, hitting back at Mishra’s remarks, AAP Punjab’s media in-charge Baltej Pannu said, “Every day, one BJP leader or another comes forward with a new way to defame Punjab’s farmers. Punjab has almost brought stubble-burning incidents under control, yet the BJP continues to target the state.”Story continues below this adALSO READ | Delhi’s AQI is 370, but some platforms show 1,000: Why do readings differ?Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa also levelled serious allegations against AAP-led Punjab government accusing it of “failing to control farm fires, deliberately facilitating them and fudging official data to take revenge on Delhi.”This, even as the union environment minister Bhupender Yadav while acknowledging the decline in stubble burning incidents over the past years, praised Punjab and Haryana for “90 per cent decline in farm fires since 2021.”Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Reena Gupta wrote on X on Tuesday: “Stubble burning in Punjab has gone down by 95%. Hence, the AQI across cities of Punjab even on Diwali Day was 164-366. We need to improve further.”Earlier, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann had mocked the allegations on Punjab from both Delhi and Lahore in his satirical way and quipped that somehow Punjab’s pollutants were “circling around” and travelling in both east and west to pollute Delhi and Lahore, respectively.Story continues below this ad“The CM of Pakistani Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif says, ‘I will write a letter to Bhagwant Mann, your pollutants come to Lahore’. Delhi folks say, ‘Your polluted air comes to Delhi.’ I said, it seems our smoke is just going round and round in circles,” Mann said repeatedly, while blaming both Delhi and Lahore for wrongly Punjab for their own failures to control air pollution.