Air pollution: Delhi schools to remain closed till further orders
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai will hold a meeting with senior officers on Monday to review the restrictions imposed in the city to contain pollution.
The Delhi government on Sunday said that physical classes in schools in the national Capital will remain suspended till further orders in view of air pollution in the city. Online classes will continue, the Directorate of Education said in an order.
On November 13, the Delhi government had shut down all offline classes in Delhi due to worsening air pollution levels in the national Capital and adjoining areas. The government had extended the suspension till Sunday following the advice of Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas.
On Sunday, the Delhi government’s Department of Education issued a fresh order extending the closure of schools till further notice.
On Sunday, the real-time data available on System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, or Safar, showed that Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index stood at 352 at 4 pm.
Air Quality Index, or AQI, between zero and 50 is considered “good’’, 51 and 100 “satisfactory’’, 101 and 200 “moderate’’, 201 and 300 “poor’’, 301 and 400 “very poor’’, and 401 and 500 “severe’’.
Meanwhile, officials said on Sunday that Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai will hold a high-level meeting with senior officers the next day to review the restrictions imposed in the city to contain pollution, reported PTI.
The central government’s Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi had said that strong surface winds could improve Delhi’s AQI “poor” from the current “very poor” category next week.
Earlier on November 17, the Delhi government had also announced several measures to curb pollution, including ban on entry of trucks carrying non-essential items from other states, prohibition of construction activities, work from home for government officials, among other measures.