New Delhi: On a day when Delhi woke up to a thick cover of smog and worrying levels of air pollution, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked his deputy and Education Minister Manish Sisodia to consider shutting schools for a few days in the city.
Delhi was alarmed by a 'severe' air quality on Tuesday with a thick haze blanketing the city as pollution levels breached permissible standards by multiple times.
"Considering high level of pollution, I have requested Manish Sisodia, Education Minister, to consider closing schools for few days," Kejriwal tweeted.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also appealed to the Delhi government to shut down outdoor sports and other such activities in schools keeping in view the harmful impact of air pollution on the health of the children.
The rapid fall in air quality and visibility began on Monday evening as moisture combined with pollutants shrouded the city in a thick cover of haze. With the morning air reaching severe levels, it has become all the more hazardous for school and college students and office goers.
By 10 am on Tuesday, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded 'severe' air quality, meaning the intensity of pollution was extreme.
While an Air Quality Index (AQI) between 0-50 is considered good, Delhi’s average AQI was 411 at 9am on Tuesday morning, which is read as severe. According to the IMD, visibility also took a plunge and it was way below 200 metres.
Kejriwal has also blamed the rising pollution levels on crop burning in adjoining states. In a tweet, he said: "Delhi has become a gas chamber. Every year this happens during this part of year. We have to find a soln to crop burning in adjoining states (sic)."
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