India’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai announced Monday that primary school students in the capital, New Delhi, will be able to return to classes from Wednesday due to a relative improvement in air pollution levels.
«From November 9, primary schools will be opened and the ban on outdoor activities (for fifth grade onwards) will be lifted,» explained the head of the Indian Environment, as reported by the newspaper ‘The Hindu’.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) at seven in the morning (local time) on Monday in New Delhi was 350 points, a category that qualifies as «very poor» environment, with harmful effects on health. This trend is expected to continue for the rest of the week.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences of the central government reported on Sunday that air quality would improve in the capital for this week «due to strong winds from the east», although it would remain between 300 and 400 points, according to the newspaper ‘Hindustan Times’.
The government of India’s capital, New Delhi, ordered on Friday the closure of all public and private schools from Saturday and recommended partial teleworking in view of the danger posed by the increase in air pollution, which exceeded by almost 40 times the maximum level stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The State Supreme Court is scheduled to meet on November 10 to address this exceptional situation, as announced by the judicial authorities on a day that the AQI rose in the capital to 472 points, a level of «serious» pollution, with maximums in some neighborhoods of 800 points, according to official data collected by ‘Times of India’.
