Delhi schools to reopen from November 20 as air quality improves

Delhi schools reopening: Delhi's air quality improved as from ‘severe’ it went down to ‘very poor’ on Saturday.

All schools in Delhi will reopen from Monday, November 20, as the AQI has improved and there is no indication of any sharp degradation in the near future, the government said in an order on Saturday asking the schools to resume physical classes. "Seeing that the Air Quality Index has improved and as per the forecast made by IMD/IITM there is no indication of any shar degradation in Air Quality of Delhi in near future, the Sub-Committee on GRAP has revoked their order vide which action under Stage IV of GRAP had been invoked," the order read.

Delhi's AQI turned 'very poor' from 'severe' in an improvement on Saturday. (Hindustan Times)

"In light of these developments, it is ordered that all govt, govt-aided and private recognised schools in Delhi shall resume all classes (from pre-school to Std XII) physically w.e.f. 20.11.2013 i.e. Monday. However, outdoor sports activities and morning assemblies will not be held for next one week from the issuance of this order. All parents must be informed, accordingly, well in advance," the order said.

GRAP 4 restrictions lifted in Delhi-NCR

The Commission for Air Quality Management revoked Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan in Delhi as air quality became better. Now, medium and heavy goods vehicles will be allowed in the Capital.

What is Delhi's AQI today?

AQI level of Delhi is around 322 (very poor) recorded at 2 pm, which is about 128 AQI points below the threshold for invoking the GRAP Stage-IV actions. Ghaziabad (276), Gurugram (322), Greater Noida (228), Noida (265) and Faridabad (309) also recorded "very poor" air quality.

Ahead of Diwali (November 12), Delhi got a brief spell of respite because of a few spells of rain, but the air quality nosedived again after Diwali. The odd-even scheme and plan for artificial rain were being considered by the government but the air quality deterioration was mainly because of weather conditions, including low wind speed.

Delhi schools were initially asked to suspend physical classes from November 3 to 10. On November 8, the schools were asked to announce early winter break from November 9 to November 18. The remaining part of the winter break will be announced later.