Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that all government and private primary schools in the city will remain closed for the next two days in view of rising pollution levels.
School Closed News: Delhi-NCR’s air quality neared the emergency threshold on Thursday, prompting an immediate ban on non-essential construction work and the closure of primary schools in the capital, as authorities acted swiftly to address the health-threatening pollution. As the temperatures are falling across the nation, many state governments are revising school timings or announcing school holidays. Check when classes will resume in these states.
School Holiday: Primary Schools Shut in Delhi
All government and private primary schools in Delhi will remain closed for the next two days in view of rising pollution levels, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced Thursday night. Taking to X(formally Twitter), In a post the chief minister said, “In light of the rising pollution levels, all govt and private primary schools in Delhi will remain closed for the next 2 days.” Pollution levels in Delhi entered the “severe” zone for the first time this season on Thursday, with scientists warning of a further spike over the next two weeks. At least 18 out of 37 monitoring stations in Delhi recorded Air Quality Index (AQI) in the “severe” category.
In light of the rising pollution levels, all govt and private primary schools in Delhi will remain closed for the next 2 days
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 2, 2023
To review the situation, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has called an emergency meeting on Friday. The Centre’s action comes as part of Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) — the Centre’s air pollution control plan which is implemented in the region during the winter season. 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). 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.
Delhi NCR School Holiday: Will Schools Close in Delhi, Noida, Faridabad, Gurgaon?
Not just Delhi, several cities in neighbouring Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh also reported hazardous air. These included Hanumangarh (438) and Sri Ganganagar (359) in Rajasthan; Hisar (414), Fatehabad (423), Jind (413), Rohtak (388), Sonepat (374), Kurukshetra (343), Karnal (343), Kaithal (379), Bhiwani (355), Faridabad (368) and Gurugram (297) in Haryana; and Ghaziabad (286), Noida (313) and Greater Noida (402) in Uttar Pradesh. An 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’. In view of rising pollution levels, all government and private schools in Noida, Gurugram, and Faridabad can expect a school holiday announcement. As of now, the respective state governments have not declared school closure but the administration plans to shift to online classes.
Kashmir School Timing Revised
In view of the changing weather and fall in temperatures, the school education authorities of Kashmir have revised the school timings commencing from November 1. Classes in government and private schools of the Kashmir division will begin an hour later than the current time. Furthermore, the Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) stated that the timing for schools falling under municipal limits of Srinagar district will remain the same from 10 AM to 3 PM. While for the schools falling outside the municipal limits of Srinagar and belonging to other districts and areas of Kashmir province will run from 10:30 AM to 3:30PM. “All the concerned institutions must strictly adhere to the given orders and instructions, and any deviation in this regard will be viewed very seriously,” the official order further stated.