The Delhi Government has announced the closure of all the government and private primary schools for two days amidst rising pollution levels in the National Capital. This was announced on X (formerly Twitter) by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

“In light of the rising pollution levels, all govt and private primary schools in Delhi will remain closed for the next 2 days,” posted the Delhi Chief Minister on X.

The announcement comes following Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai’s statement on the increasing air pollution and deterioration of air quality in New Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) . Speaking to ANI, Rai said, “From November 1, the next 15 to 20 days are critical. Scientists are saying that the temperature is dropping and the speed of air has decreased, so pollutants are at a lower level. Yesterday, AQI was nearly 350. Due to the work going on in the 13 hotspots in Delhi, the situation is fairly under control. At some hotspots, vehicle pollution’s contribution is high.”

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Meanwhile, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the National Capital has been categorized in the  poor and severe levels. On November 2, the air quality in Delhi stood at 392, escalating to 402 by evening, bringing the air quality from ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) categorises air quality 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).

Air Quality Index (AQI) is an indicator developed by government agencies to communicate to the public on the quality of air or how polluted it is forecasted to become. It also provides information on associated health effects.