Delhi Air Pollution: All Primary Schools In National Capital To Remain Shut For Two Days

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that all government and private primary schools in the national capital will remain closed for the next two days, due to the rise in air pollution levels.

"In light of the rising pollution levels, all govt and private primary schools in Delhi will remain closed for the next 2 days," Kejriwal said on social media.

In light of the rising pollution levels, all govt and private primary schools in Delhi will remain closed for the next 2 days

¡ª Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 2, 2023

What are the restrictions under GRAP Stage-3

The announcement came after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) implemented the GRAP-III restrictions in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

Under the GRAP Stage-III restrictions, state governments in NCR and GNCTD can take a decision on discontinuing physical classes in schools for children up to Class V and conducting classes in an online mode'.

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Other restrictions under GRAP Stage-III include a ban on plying of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel LMVs (4 wheelers) in Delhi and in the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar.

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There is also a ban on operations of stone crushers, mining and associated activities in the NCR. Construction and demolition activities in the entire NCR (except certain categories of projects) are also banned.

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What are the stages of GRAP

GRAP categorises actions into four stages: Stage I - 'poor' (AQI 201-300); Stage II - 'very poor' (AQI 301-400); Stage III - 'severe' (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV - 'severe plus' (AQI above 450).

How bad is Delhi's AQI

At least 18 out of 37 monitoring stations in Delhi recorded Air Quality Index (AQI) in the ¡°severe¡± category.

The areas where AQI breached the 400-mark are - Anand Vihar (450), Bawana (452), Burari Crossing (408), Dwarka Sector 8 (445), Jahangirpuri (433), Mundka (460), NSIT Dwarka (406), Najafgarh (414), Narela (433), Nehru Nagar (400), New Moti Bagh (423), Okhla Phase 2 (415), Patparganj (412), Punjabi Bagh (445), R K Puram (417), Rohini (454), Shadipur (407) and Wazirpur (435).

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What CAQM said

Earlier, at a meeting to review the air quality situation in Delhi-NCR, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for developing strategies to combat pollution in the region, said the pollution levels are only "expected to increase further" owing to highly unfavourable meteorological and climatic conditions.

The Delhi government has also called an emergency meeting on Friday to review the situation.

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