Delhi air pollution: AQI touches 500 (severe plus); schools, DU colleges go online, health advisory issued

The air quality in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram reached “alarmingly high” levels, with most AQI stations touching 500-mark (severe plus) even on Tuesday morning, November 19, while a dense layer of smog enveloped the National Capital Region (NCR) for the seventh consecutive day.

While the Union health secretary issued an updated advisory on Monday to states and union territories regarding air pollution, Delhi University has decided to shift to online classes till November 23 and Jawaharlal Nehru University till November 22, the varsities announced amid worsening air quality levels in the national capital.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality index (AQI) of Delhi’s Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Jahangirpuri, Major Dhyan Chand Stadium and several other places touched the 500-mark at 5am on Tuesday, prompting concerns about health and safety.

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Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (500), Dwarka sector-8 (498), Munka (500), North Campus (500), RK Puram (499) and Wazirpur (500) were some of the areas that recorded the worst air quality in Delhi at 5am.

Delhi University, in a notification, said regular classes in “physical mode” will resume on November 25. JNU, in its statement, said it would conduct all classes online till November 22. The schedule of exams and interviews, however, remains unchanged, the universities said.

The Delhi government has termed the air situation a “medical emergency” and urged institutions to take preventive measures in the interest of public health. The two major factors affecting the city’s air are weather conditions and stubble burning.

Several schools and colleges in the region have already started shifting to online classes due to the poor air. In-person classes will be suspended for classes 10 and 12, the Delhi government announced on Monday.

“From tomorrow physical classes shall be suspended for Class 10 and 12 as well, and all studies will be shifted online,” Delhi chief minister Atishi said in a post on X.

The directorate of education, too, issued a circular directing the heads of government and private schools to discontinue the classes for all students, including classes 10 and 12.

The Union health secretary’s advisory includes recommendations for states and UTs to strengthen existing health systems and raise awareness among vulnerable groups and at-risk occupations. The advisory suggests developing detailed action plans at the district and city levels to address climate change’s health impacts, including strategies to combat air pollution.

It also emphasises expanding the network of sentinel hospitals to monitor air pollution-related illnesses within each state or union territory for effective response and monitoring.

With the AQI entering into the ‘severe plus’ category choking the national capital, the Supreme Court on Monday directed all Delhi-NCR states to immediately set up teams to strictly enforce anti-pollution Graded Response Action Plan-4 (GRAP) restrictions, making it clear that the curbs will continue till further orders. The court asserted that it is the constitutional duty of all states to ensure all citizens live in a pollution-free environment.
The Supreme Court also pulled up the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for “delaying” the implementation of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) and said it followed a “wrong” approach.