Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said he had requested Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia to consider the closure of schools for a few days, considering the high level of pollution.
Dense fog, combined with a “severe” Air Quality Index (AQI) ratings from several monitoring stations, sent alarm bells ringing in the Capital. Visibility was reduced to 200 metres and below 25 metres in parts of Punjab, Haryana, northern Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh.
The move comes a day after the Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote to Mr. Sisiodia appealing to stop all outdoor sports and other activities in schools due to hazardous levels of air pollution prevalent in the city.
In the appeal, IMA national president K. K. Aggarwal said, “The AQI in Delhi-NCR has recently ranged from “poor” to “very poor” to “severe”. Due to this, even healthy persons may experience some level of discomfort upon exposure to such high levels of pollution.”
Children are especially at risk and it must be ensured that they are not exposed to the pollution for a prolonged time, he added.
Several schools in the city have traditionally scheduled their sports days and outdoor activities near Children’s Day to take advantage of the cooler weather. The IMA, however, has advised that when the AQI crosses 200, the time spent outdoors should be restricted and all outdoor activities in schools should be cancelled.