NEW DELHI: Delhi woke up to another day of very poor air quality on Saturday, a day before Diwali, with pollution levels expected to deteriorate further. Amid the worsening air quality, the Directorate of Education has directed all government and private schools in the national capital to conduct classes up to Class 5 in hybrid mode, allowing students to attend either in person or online.
The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 364 at 9 am on Saturday, in the 'very poor' category, compared with the 24-hour average of 382 recorded at 4 pm on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Of the 59 air quality monitoring stations across Delhi, 18 recorded AQI levels in the 'severe' category on Saturday morning.
According to forecasts by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the AQI is likely to enter the severe category on Saturday.
The school directive, issued on Friday, applies to government, government-aided and unaided recognised private schools under the Directorate of Education, as well as institutions run by the NDMC, MCD and Delhi Cantonment Board.
The decision was taken in compliance with the Commission for Air Quality Management's (CAQM) order invoking all measures under Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR with immediate effect.
The Directorate has directed school heads to inform parents and guardians about the hybrid arrangement immediately. Deputy Directors of Education across districts and zones have also been asked to visit schools under their jurisdiction to ensure smooth implementation.
Under CPCB standards, an AQI of 0-50 is classified as 'good', 51-100 as 'satisfactory', 101-200 as 'moderate', 201-300 as 'poor', 301-400 as 'very poor' and 401-500 as 'severe'.
Meanwhile, several weather stations recorded a slight dip in minimum temperatures. Safdarjung, considered representative of Delhi's weather, recorded a minimum temperature of 16.2 degrees Celsius, 1.9 degrees below normal and one degree lower than Friday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast mostly clear skies over the next few days.
(With inputs from PTI)