New Delhi: The pollution levels in Delhi-NCR have consistently ranged between the ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ categories. Owing to the deteriorating level of air quality, the authorities in Noida have decided to continue the online classes for school students on Monday as well. In neighbouring Ghaziabad, physical classes have been suspended till further notice because of deteriorating pollution levels.
In Noida, schools had decided to go online till Saturday, causing confusion among parents about whether they needed to send their children for classes on Monday. To recall, the physical classes were suspended last week in view of harmful levels of air quality in the region.
“In view of the instructions given by the District Magistrate, Gautam Buddha Nagar on November 18, regarding the discontinuation of physical classes from pre-school to class 12 due to the breach of Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi-NCR to Severe+ category with (450+AQI), all schools of the District Gautam Buddh Nagar are directed to follow the above order till November 25,” stated the order issued by Dharamvir Singh, District Inspector of Schools (DIOS).
Reports earlier had suggested that the offline classes are likely to resume on November 25, while the schedule for examinations and interviews remains unchanged. The development comes as the authorities had ordered the closure of schools till November 23.
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Delhi’s air quality remains in ‘severe’ category, AQI at 412
Delhi’s air quality slipped back to the ‘severe’ category on Saturday with an AQI of 412 while the maximum temperature was recorded at 29.4 degrees Celsius.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which provides hourly AQI updates, 20 monitoring stations, including Alipur, Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Chandni Chowk, DTU, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Mandir Marg, Narela, Nehru Nagar, Patparganj, Rohini, Punjabi Bagh, Wazirpur, and Mundka, registered readings above 400, placing them in the ‘severe’ category.
According to data from the CPCB, the city’s 24-hour average AQI, recorded until 4 pm on Saturday, stood at 412.
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The AQI is classified into six categories: ‘good’ (0-50), ‘satisfactory’ (51-100), ‘moderate’ (101-200), ‘poor’ (201-300), ‘very poor’ (301-400), and ‘severe’ (401-500).
The ‘severe’ category poses serious health risks, especially due to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing long-term health issues.
The Centre’s Decision Support System (DSS) for Air Quality Management attributed 16.4 percent of Delhi’s pollution on Saturday to vehicular emissions, a major contributor to the toxic air.
