Dr Hiren Jethva, an aerosol remote sensing scientist associated with Morgan State University and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre, stated that his calculations showed 34,000 farm fires in Punjab and Haryana between October 1 and November 9 this year. Official reports cite 4,500 farm fires in Punjab and Haryana, but NASA scientist Dr. Hiren Jethva's satellite analysis suggests the actual number could be as high as 34,000.