On Tuesday, 7th November 2017, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requested Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia to consider closing schools for a few days, considering the high level of pollution recorded in the State.
Several monitoring stations alarm bells rang when the dense air coupled with severe Air Quality Index (AQI)Rating had the capital in an anxiety mode, as visibility was reduced to 200 metres and below 25 metres in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Northern Rajasthan and Western Uttar Pradesh.
In the appeal, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote to Mr. Sisiodia appealing to stop all outdoor sports and other activities in schools due to hazardous levels of air pollution prevalent in the city. IMA national president K. K. Aggarwal said that the AQI had rated the air quality from poor to very poor to severe. This might even cause discomfort to healthy people as well leading to cardiac and respiratory problems.
He added that children are especially at risk and it must be ensured that they are not exposed to the pollution for a prolonged time.
Several schools in the city have traditionally scheduled their sports days and outdoor activities near Children’s Day to take advantage of the cooler weather. The IMA, however, has advised that when the AQI crosses 200, the time spent outdoors should be restricted and all outdoor activities in schools should be cancelled.
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