New Delhi, Oct. 23 -- Even as Delhi continues to choke under a "very poor" air quality index for the third straight day, experts said the city has so far been spared the usual haze of farm smoke. The contribution of stubble burning in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana has remained negligible this season - below 1% on most days, and peaking at just 2.6% so far, according to data from the Centre's Decision Support System (DSS). The peak share of 2.6% was recorded on October 17, meaning Delhi's current pollution spike is largely due to both local and cross-boundary emissions from industries and vehicles. Typically, the impact of farm fires begins to rise sharply in the last week of October. This year, forecasts suggest the seasonal surge will be delayed until at least October 28, as winds continue to blow largely from the east rather than the northwest. Experts said a combination of factors - particularly the floods in Punjab earlier this year - disrupted the paddy harvest cycle. "The floods may have impacted the harvesting pattern, which could lead to a delayed spike in farm fire counts. Normally, the peak is seen in the start of November, but so far the impact has been negligible," said Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst at the think-tank Envirocatalysts. DSS data this week showed stubble smoke contributing just 1.62% to Delhi's PM2.5 on Wednesday, 1% on Tuesday, and 0.83% on Monday. The contrast with last year is striking: by October 22, 2023, the share had already reached 8%. Mukesh Khare, an air pollution expert from IIT Delhi, said, "The floods have meant the soil is still wet for a lot of farmers, who are waiting to harvest in the coming weeks." To be sure, fire counts are beginning to rise. Indian Agricultural Research Institute data shows Punjab recorded 69 farm fires on Wednesday - the highest single-day count of the season so far. Between September 15 and October 22, the state reported 484 farm fires, compared to 1,581 last year. Experts have warned that while delayed, they fear remaining stubble will be set ablaze in a small time-window, the impact of which will be felt hard in Delhi. The Indian Meteorological Department forecasts winds will remain variable until October 26 before turning predominantly easterly through October 28....