Patiala, Oct. 19 -- As paddy harvesting gains pace amid dry weather, Punjab on Saturday recorded the highest single-day spike of the season in farm fire incidents - 33 in a day - taking the total count to 241. According to data from the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), Tarn Taran accounted for 23 of the 33 cases, making it the worst-affected district so far, with the total reaching 88. Amritsar follows with 80 cases. Officials said with harvesting still to pick up in the Malwa belt, which typically records the highest number of fires, the situation is expected to worsen in the coming days. Last year, Sangrur in Malwa had topped the state with 1,725 cases out of 10,909 farm fires. Conventionally, PRSC monitors stubble burning from September 15, coinciding with the start of early paddy harvesting, until November 30 each year. The spike comes just days ahead of Diwali, raising concerns of deteriorating air quality across the region when pollution levels already tend to peak. Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution in the National Capital Region in October and November. As the window for rabi crop wheat is very short after the paddy harvest, farmers set their fields on fire to quickly get rid of crop residue for sowing of the next crop, disregarding the repeated appeals by the government and strict monitoring by district administrations. So far, 81 "red entries" have been made in land records of violators, barring them from securing loans or selling and mortgaging farmland. The state has also imposed environmental compensation of Rs.5.15 lakh across 104 cases, of which Rs.3.65 lakh has been recovered. The surge in stubble burning has started to reflect on the state's air quality, which is rapidly deteriorating. The Air Quality Index (AQI) across major cities has worsened significantly - rising from last week's range of 50-60 to near or above 100 in many areas. On Saturday, Mandi Gobindgarh town in Fatehgarh Sahib district recorded an AQI of 238, making it the most polluted city in the state. It was followed closely by Jalandhar (148) and Ludhiana (114), both of which now fall in the "moderate" air quality category. Prolonged exposure to such air may cause breathing discomfort, particularly among people suffering from lung and heart diseases. Dr Sumeet Singh, nodal officer for the National Programme for Climate Change and Human Health, said if air quality worsened further, people should avoid outdoor activities such as walking, cycling or jogging in open areas....