Delhi : State Environment Minister Gopal Rai announced today that due to the increasing pollution levels, school closures have been extended to Class 11 for this week, and the odd-even rule will return to Delhi the day after Diwali. The minister said that all schools in the nation’s capital will be closed until November 10th, with the exception of Classes 10 and 12. Due to the worsening air quality, only classes up to Class 5 are currently suspended.
For almost a week now, Delhi has been covered in a thick layer of deadly pollution, forcing the government to halt the entry of diesel trucks and impose a Stage 4 Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) restriction on building activity in the city.
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Mr. Rai spoke on other actions taken by his government, such as prohibiting crackers and installing smog guns, and stated that the prohibition on BS3 gasoline and BS4 diesel vehicles will also remain in effect. On November 13, the day after Diwali, the odd-even rule—which has been the Arvind Kejriwal government’s main initiative in combating pollution for the previous three years—will return for a week.
On odd-number days, only cars with registration numbers that finish in an odd digit will be permitted on Delhi’s roads; on even-number days, only cars with registration numbers that end in an even digit will be permitted. The minister stated that the necessity to extend the odd-even rule past November 20 will be examined at a later time.
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This morning in Delhi, the overall air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 488, which is significantly higher than the upper limit established by the World Health Organization. RK Puram (466), ITO (402), Patparganj (471), and New Moti Bagh (488) were among the most severely hit regions.
The quality of air that people in Delhi and the surrounding cities are breathing is comparable to smoking 25–30 cigarettes a day, with the AQI hovering around 500.
