With the rising air pollution in the national capital, the government has announced the closure of primary schools. According to the announcement, all primary classes will be conducted online. This decision was taken after the central pollution panel imposed restrictions under the third stage of the Graded Response Actions Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR, banning all construction and demolition activities and restricting the entry of certain vehicles in Delhi.
As a precautionary measure, the national capital ordered primary schools to conduct online classes instead of offline classes. According to the order, all schools will remain closed till Saturday.
In a post on X, Delhi CM Atishi announced the closure of primary classes: ''Due to rising pollution levels, all primary schools in Delhi will be shifting to online classes until further directions.'
According to the report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), The AIQ in some of Delhi has reached to the 'severe' category. These areas are Anand Vihar (441), Dwarka (444), Mundka (449), RK Puram (437), and Indira Gandhi International Airport (446), prompting authorities to impose strict anti-pollution measures.
The GRAP for Delhi-NCR is divided into four stages of air quality — Stage 1 for "poor" Air Quality Index (AQI) ranging between 201 and 300, Stage 2 for "very poor" AQI of 301-400, Stage 3 for "severe" AQI of 401-450 and Stage 4 for "severe plus" AQI (more than 450).
Maharashtra schools closed
Apart from Delhi, the Maharashtra education department has announced the closure of schools in view of the upcoming Maharashtra Elections. According to the order, all schools in Maharashtra will remain shut for three days,i.e. November 18,19, and 20.
However, with today's Guru Nanak Jayanti celebrations, Maharashtra's long weekend officially begins. In observance of Guru Nanak Jayanti, many schools have declared a holiday that will be followed by a weekend (November 16 and 17). In preparation for the Maharashtra Assembly Elections, Maharashtra schools will be closed from Monday to Wednesday, November 18–20.
