Delhi schools will get an early winter break because of air pollution

Due to extreme air pollution, the Delhi government has announced an early winter school break from November 9 to November 18.

In response to the extreme air pollution in the nation's capital, the Delhi administration on Wednesday declared an early winter break for schools from November 9 to November 18. This information was reported by the news agency ANI.

“Because of air pollution, the December winter break for all schools has been rescheduled, now to be from November 9–18," the notice read.

The quality of the air in Delhi had been regularly in the "very poor" category until Friday, November 3, when it became considerably worse, reaching "severe" (AQI above 400) for the first time this season.

According to information provided by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the Air Quality Index (AQI) was measured at 395 today after surpassing 400 (the severe category) in the previous several days.

Numerous Delhi citizens and commuters reported having respiratory issues. They therefore pleaded with the government and relevant authorities to take immediate action to stop the out-of-control air pollution.

In Punjab, the number of stubble-burning incidents, which is a major contributing element to pollution during this time of year, was recorded at 1,515 on November 7, down from a peak of 3,230 on November 5. 26 and 169 of these instances were reported in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana on November 7.

The region's air quality has gotten worse, partly due to a dramatic rise in stubble-burning instances after October 28.

A meeting of the relevant agencies was presided over by Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, and Revenue Minister Atishi to ensure adherence to the directives issued by the Supreme Court yesterday concerning pollution.