Delhi Moves Youngest Students to Hybrid Classes as Smog Worsens

Delhi’s average air quality reading stood at 369 on Saturday. The government has told schools to offer hybrid classes to children up to Class 5. Students may attend in person or online where online learning is available. The order came as smog cut visibility on Diwali eve and pollution forecasts warned of worse air ahead. ^2,3

The order covers government, government-aided and recognised private schools under the Delhi education directorate. It also covers schools run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantonment Board. School leaders must tell parents about the arrangement, while education officials have been asked to check that schools follow it. The move followed the Commission for Air Quality Management’s decision to impose Stage III limits across Delhi-NCR. ²

Those Stage III limits curb construction and demolition work that creates dust. They also restrict some older petrol and diesel cars in Delhi and named NCR districts. Officials have also been asked to consider letting half of government, municipal and private office staff work from home. The measures show how poor air is changing daily routines, not just what people breathe. Younger pupils can choose remote lessons, while families and schools must work out how to manage attendance. The order allows students to attend in person, so it does not close schools outright. ^2,9

Sunday’s forecast is the next test. Delhi’s early warning system expects air to reach the severe category on November 8 and 9. Readings are likely to move between severe and very poor over the following six days. The citywide average was slightly lower than Friday’s 382, but 16 of 59 monitoring stations were already in the severe range on Saturday. ^3,4