New Delhi, Nov 15 (EFE).- Primary schools in the Indian capital switched to online classes from Friday as New Delhi once again registered the highest levels of air pollution in the world earlier in the day on the Swiss air quality monitoring platform IQ Air.
The measure was announced by New Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Marlena Singh on social media platform X on Thursday.
“Due to rising pollution levels, all primary schools in Delhi will be shifting to online classes, until further directions,” said Singh.
According to IQ Air, the air quality index in the Indian capital stood at 802 at around 12.15 pm on Friday.
AQI levels of 400-500 are considered “severe,” according to the Indian government’s System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research.
New Delhi has now overtaken the Pakistani city of Lahore – located some 400 kilometers (around 250 miles) from the Indian capital – as the world’s most polluted city, an unenviable position it held in recent weeks.
The concentration of PM2.5 particles – those with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns – in the air was 477 micrograms per cubic meter, over 95 times above standards considered safe by the World Health Organization.
Meanwhile, the concentration of PM10 particles was 759 micrograms per cubic meter in New Delhi.
On Friday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the national capital region implemented Stage 3 of its Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) against environmental pollution, which includes measures such as stopping construction activities, and not allowing vehicles with BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel engines to ply on the roads.
A sharp increase in air pollution, marked by a thick layer of smog in the skies, is common in New Delhi and its surrounding areas particularly towards the end of the year, starting November, due to a combination of several factors such as the burning of crop stubble in northern India, emissions from industries and adverse weather conditions. EFE
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