Haryana govt closes schools up to Class 5 amid spike in air pollution

The Haryana government has announced the temporary closure of all schools up to class 5 amid rising air pollution. An official missive said directions may soon be issued for online classes in both government and private schools. The development comes mere days after primary schools in Delhi switched to online learning until further notice.
Haryana’s Jind recorded its air quality index in the “severe” category while several other parts in the state and many places in neighbouring Punjab saw the air quality index hovering between the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ zones. Meanwhile air quality in the national capital remained ‘severe’ for the fourth consecutive day with the AQI settling at 407 at 9 am on Saturday.
The government restrictions were imposed under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan announced by the Commission for Air Quality Management earlier this week.
Earlier on Friday, the Delhi government banned private BS III petrol and BS IV diesel vehicles — with violations inviting a penalty of ₹20,000. It has also prohibited the entry of diesel and petrol inter-state buses from the NCR cities into Delhi and certain categories of construction activities. Government office timings have also been staggered in a bid to manage the situation.
Chief Minister Atishi announced on Thursday that all schools up to Class 5 would switch to online learning until further notice. Authorities are also taking measures to safeguard older students as they continue to attend classes — from mandatory use of N95 masks to restricting outdoor activities.
The worsening air quality has also prompted a sharp spike in respiratory and chest infection cases in hospitals. Levels of PM2.5 pollutants — dangerous cancer-causing microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs —  were recorded more than 26 times above the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum shortly after dawn in Delhi on Friday.
(With inputs from agencies)