Delhi pollution highlights: Delhi govt decides to hold classes online till class 12

Delhi pollution live updates: “As soon as the winter season begins, the zoo management faces two challenges. First, the pollution level increases after Diwali and second, the onset of winter...The area around the zoo is very green and local pollution is very low as no diesel-petrol vehicles ply in the zoo. But, water sprinkling is used to reduce the impact of pollution. We focus on winter management to ensure that the wild animals do not face any problems during the winter season...A special vehicle sprays small droplets of water in an attempt to reduce the impact of air pollution...The wild animals are given a winter diet that includes foods rich in fat...heaters have also been installed,” said the Director of the National Zoological Park, Dr. Sanjeet Kumar.

Delhi pollution live updates: The Delhi government announced on Monday that classes for students in classes 10 and 12 will be conducted online starting Tuesday. The decision was announced amid rising air pollution levels in the national capital

Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked the governments in the national capital region to take a call on conducting online classes for all students up to class 12.

Delhi pollution live updates: The University of Delhi said it will conduct classes online until Saturday, November 23, and resume physical classes on November 25. The university's registrar said the decision was taken in the interest of students amid rising air pollution levels.

The circular also said the schedule of examinations and interviews remains unchanged.

Delhi pollution live updates: Doctors from Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital said air pollution is causing an inflow of more patients to complain of shortness of breath, runny nose, and chest tightness.

“Pregnant women, children and elderly people are the most vulnerable age groups that can be harmed by pollution. It can lead to premature births, preterm delivery and low birth weight of children. Patients of all age groups are coming. We should follow the anti-pollution laws and rules made by the government... People can keep themselves safe by staying indoors. Wear N95 masks while going out and take medicines on time,” said Dr Amit Jindal while speaking to ANI.

Delhi pollution live updates: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the government will implement additional restrictions, including the odd-even vehicle rule, based on further requirements and expert advice. Rai asserted that the Delhi government is taking all measures to combat rising air pollution levels.

The odd-even scheme, introduced in 2016 by the AAP government to control vehicular pollution and reduce rising particulate matter levels, alternates vehicle usage based on registration numbers.

Vehicles with registration numbers ending in even digits (0, 2, 4, 6, 8) are allowed on the roads on even dates, while those with registration numbers ending in odd digits (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) are permitted on odd dates.

The scheme operates from 8 am to 8 pm, restricting vehicular movement based on this alternating pattern.

Delhi pollution live updates: The Supreme Court issued a circular on Monday advising its staff to wear masks due to the alarming levels of air pollution in Delhi.

“Everyone is, therefore, advised to ensure the wearing of a mask and taking (preventive) health measures,” the circular issued by the assistant registrar said.

Delhi pollution live updates: Poor visibility due to dense smog led to 15 flights being diverted and over 100 flights being delayed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.

Of the 15 flights, 13 were diverted to Jaipur and 1 each to Dehradun and Lucknow, the official said and added that the diversions happened between 8.30 am and 3.30 pm.

Air India, SpiceJet, and IndiGo informed passengers through X that flights may be affected by poor visibility conditions.

Lack of pilots trained in CAT-3 operations also affected flight operations. Broadly, CAT-3 trained pilots can take off or land planes at very low visibility conditions.

Delhi pollution live updates: Schools in the national capital issued an advisory asking students and their parents to take necessary precautions to protect themselves from severe air pollution.

“We advised our students to come with N-95 masks, we restricted our outdoor activities. We told parents to go for carpooling, hydrating the children. Before GRAP-IV as well, we tried to protect our children from air pollution,” said Sudha Acharya, Principal at ITL Public School.

Delhi pollution live updates: In the wake of the plummeting air quality, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) advised people to minimise travelling during the hours when AQI is in the ‘severe’ or ‘poor’ category.

To ensure that residents can navigate the city safely, here’s a concise guide on the best and worst hours for stepping out in the national capital, as per Breezometer. Read more

Delhi pollution live updates: MCD school teachers association alleged that the administration is forcing them to come to schools to conduct online classes for students.

The Delhi government ordered the closure of schools, with online classes replacing physical sessions to protect students from “severe plus” levels of air pollution.

Shikshak Nyay Manch, a teachers' association, called the move contradictory and harmful.

"Even after the implementation of GRAP Stage four, teachers are being called to schools every day, forcing over two lakh vehicles onto the roads and worsening pollution," said association president Kuldeep Singh Khatri.

"When there are no students in schools, what is the need for teachers to be physically present? During the pandemic, online teaching was conducted successfully from home. Why can't it be done now?" he added.

Delhi pollution live updates: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast dense fog conditions for various parts of north India over the next three to four days.

“Dense to very dense fog is prevailing in North and North-west India... In the coming days, dense to very dense fog will prevail in Haryana and Punjab for the next 5 days. Delhi-NCR will also be covered by moderate to dense fog for the next 3-4 days,” said IMD scientist Naresh Kumar.

Delhi pollution live updates: Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena said the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) experiment with an anti-smog mist system in Dwarka was “very successful” and reduced pollution by about 20% in its current location.

“Right now, there is a patch of 550 meters. Now we are going to expand it to 4 more places. I am fully confident that if efforts are made to gradually install such systems in the entire Delhi, then there can be a lot of difference in the pollution of Delhi,” said Saxena.

Delhi pollution live updates: Businessman Robert Vadra said that air pollution harms people's health, but governments are busy blaming each other for the crisis.

“Nobody is trying to find a solution to it. It's really embarrassing when people ask how do you live in this gas chamber,” said Vadra, the husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Delhi pollution live updates: Highlighting the alarming deterioration in Delhi's air quality, a body representing the Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officers on Monday demanded work-from-home, staggered working hours and air purifiers in all office buildings to mitigate the health impact of the severe pollution levels.

In a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the association said that poor air quality has also had a noticeable effect on workplace productivity, with employees experiencing symptoms such as respiratory issues, eye irritation, fatigue and general discomfort.

Delhi pollution live updates: Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said the government has directed the officials to ensure strict implementation of restrictions under stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Rai also said the Delhi government is taking “all possible measures” under its capacity.

The AAP leader also raised rising air pollution across northern parts of the country. “I demand that the Central government take emergency measures so that the whole of north India can be saved from this situation,” Rai said.

Delhi pollution live updates: The Supreme Court on Monday observed that the Commission for Air Quality Management's (CAQM) "wait and watch" approach to implementing the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was “wrong”.

“The approach adopted by the commission seems to be that they have decided to wait for improvement of AQI and therefore implementation of stage 3 and stage 4 was delayed. This is completely a wrong approach. Even in anticipation of AQI decreasing the threshold limit it is the duty of the commission to start implementation of GRAP III or GRAP IV as the case maybe. The commission cannot wait for improvement of AQI,” LiveLaw reported the bench as saying.

Delhi pollution live updates: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the governments in the national capital region to decide on suspending physical classes for all students up to class 12.

On Sunday, the Delhi government announced the suspension of physical classes for all students except classes 10 and 12. The announcement came hours after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked stricter pollution control measures for the Delhi-NCR under GRAP stage 4, effective 8 am on Monday.

Delhi pollution live updates: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered governments in the national capital region to implement GRAP stage 4 restrictions till further orders. It also ordered the states to file compliance affidavits before the next hearing date.

The court also directed the governments to set up a grievance redressal mechanism to help report cases of violations.

The SC said all states should immediately constitute teams to monitor actions required under GRAP stage 4.

Delhi pollution live updates: Swiss air quality monitor IQAir said India's national capital, Delhi, recorded air pollution more than 17 times above an 'acceptable' level.

According to IQAir, which collects global pollution data, the city’s air quality index score touched 1743 at 12:30 pm on Monday. A level below 101 is acceptable, and scores above 300 are considered hazardous.

Delhi pollution live updates: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai alleged that no Head of Department (HOD) attended the government meeting called for at 12 pm on Monday to discuss the implementation of anti-pollution measures.

“After the implementation of GRAP-4, we called a meeting at 12 pm with all the concerned departments. However, the negligence of officials is so high that even after GRAP-4 was enforced, no Head of Department (HOD) attended the meeting. That's why we had to cancel the meeting. We have sent notices to all departments for a rescheduled meeting at 3 pm,” Rai told PTI.

Delhi pollution live updates: AAP leader Manish Sisodia said people across northern parts of India are 'suffocating' due to rising air pollution levels. He also said it is the responsibility of the Centre to treat air pollution as a ‘national calamity’ as other states are also contributing to the crisis.

Speaking to PTI, Sisodia said, “The pollution situation at the moment is a national calamity. Not only Delhi is suffering, but people across North India are also suffocating. The Centre has done nothing regarding stubble burning in the last 7-8 years. They are just doing politics over it. It is their responsibility to consider this as national calamity. While stubble burning has decreased by 80 percent in Punjab, it has increased substantially in states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh.”

Delhi pollution live updates: A total of eleven flights were diverted and many delayed on Monday morning at the Delhi airport as thick smog resulted in poor visibility for aircraft operations.

Airlines SpiceJet and Indio informed their passengers through a post on X that their flights may be affected due to poor visibility conditions.

The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) also asked passengers to check their respective airlines for updated flight schedules.

Delhi pollution live updates: While addressing a press conference on Monday Delhi chief minister Atishi stated that the AQI is poor across the country.

" Be it Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Bikaner, Bhopal, Patna, or Lucknow, today, AQI across the country is very poor, poor, severe, or severe . Central Pollution Control Board releases data every day...Today, people across the country are unable to breathe," she said.