Chandigarh/Patiala, Nov. 11 -- Punjab Police have registered more than 1,100 FIRs and marked over 1,300 "red entries" in farmers' land records this paddy harvesting season, even as the number of stubble-burning incidents in state crossed 5,000 and edged closer to last year's total.

According to the latest data compiled by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the state reported 345 fresh farm fires, taking the cumulative count to 5,002. With 20 days remaining in the 2026 monitoring period, the figure is just 112 short of the 5,114 incidents recorded during the whole of last year.

Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is often blamed for worsening air pollution in Delhi-NCR. With a narrow window to prepare fields for the next...