NEW DELHI: Chief minister Atishi announced the suspension of in-person classes for all students in Delhi. This decision follows Delhi govt’s announcement on Sunday, which initially suspended classes for all, except students in classes X and XII, due to the city’s alarming pollution levels.
Check Delhi AQI here
“From tomorrow, physical classes shall be suspended for classes X and XII as well, and all studies will be shifted to online mode,” Atishi wrote in a post on X.
Soon after, Directorate of Education (DoE) issued an order, stating “In view of the prevailing severe
air quality
and high
AQI
levels in Delhi, all heads of govt, govt-aided and unaided private recognised schools under DoE, MCD, NDMC and DCB are hereby directed to discontinue physical classes for all students of all classes, including Class X and Class XII until further orders”.
AQI likely to remain ‘severe’ till Nov 21
According to CPCB’s bulletin, Monday’s ‘severe plus’ Air Quality Index was surpassed only by the reading of 497 recorded on November 6, 2016, and matched the measurement from November 13, 2019.
The day was characterised by poor visibility and grey conditions across Delhi. The maximum temperature fell to the season’s lowest at 23.5 degrees Celsius, four degrees below normal and 3.7 degrees lower than Sunday. The minimum temperature registered 16.2 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal.
The Air Quality Early Warning System, under the Union ministry of earth sciences, indicates that air quality will likely remain ‘severe’ until November 21, with AQI staying above 400. However, uncertainty remains about whether the AQI will exceed 450, reaching ‘severe plus’ levels.
CPCB data reveals that the AQI, measuring 441 at 4pm on Sunday, reached ‘severe plus’ levels by 6pm at 452. It increased to 468 by 10pm Sunday, reaching 485 by 9am Monday and 495 by 7pm. Fifteen of Delhi’s 36 air monitoring stations recorded maximum AQI of 500, whilst others approached similar extreme levels.
AQI maxes out at 15 stations
On Monday, fifteen air monitoring stations across Delhi, including Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, and several others, recorded maximum Air Quality Index readings.
According to Central Pollution Control Board measurements, which utilise a 0-500 scale, 33 out of 36 monitoring stations registered AQI values exceeding 490. The remaining stations also showed critically high readings, with locations like Mandir Marg recording 499.
Whilst individual stations like RK Puram had previously reached the maximum index of 500 on November 3 in past years, Monday’s situation proved particularly severe. Most stations either reached 500 or showed readings of 498-499. Throughout the day, an increasing number of monitoring stations reached the maximum reading.
The monitoring station at Dwarka Sector 8 reached maximum levels at 9am on Monday, maintaining this reading throughout the day.
Delhi’s various areas showed concerning PM2.5 concentrations. At Mundka, hourly PM2.5 levels reached 1,193 micrograms per cubic metre at 1pm on Monday, according to Delhi Pollution Control Committee data. This measurement exceeded the national ambient air quality standard by 20 times and surpassed WHO’s daily safe guideline by 80 times.
15 Delhi-bound flights diverted
Heavy fog conditions at IGI Airport disrupted flight services on Monday. Flights headed to Delhi were rerouted, with fifteen aircraft landing at alternative airports in Jaipur and Dehradun. Flightradar24 reported that 349 flights experienced delays during the day.
The India Meteorological Department reported visibility dropping to 100 metres between 1 am and 8 am on Monday. “A total of 15 flights were diverted between 8.30 am and 3.30 pm on Monday. Of these, 13 were diverted to Jaipur and one each to Dehradun and Lucknow due to captain minima (an operating procedure used when low visibility conditions do not meet the criteria for landing),” stated an official at Delhi Airport.
Despite visibility improving as the day progressed, numerous flights faced delays due to the earlier disruptions. The visibility at IGI Airport reached its peak at 700 metres by 5 pm.