New Delhi: In the wake of rising pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR), all schools in Noida and Greater Noida on Thursday were asked to hold online classes for students up to Class 8 till November 8, according to an official order.
The schools have also been asked to hold classes for students of Class 9 to 12 online as far as possible, said the order issued by Gautam Buddh Nagar's District Inspector of Schools (DIOS) Dharmveer Singh.
"All schools have been asked to move to online medium for teaching students up to Class 8. They have been asked to switch to the online mode for students of Class 9 to 12 also to the extent possible," Singh said.
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The order further said that outdoor activities such as sports or meetings will remain completely banned in all schools till pollution subsides.
According to the officer, Gautam Buddh Nagar has around 1,800 schools, including higher education centres, spread across Noida and Greater Noida.
Meanwhile, the air quality in the national capital continued to deteriorate on Wednesday falling under ‘very poor’ category.
The AQI in Noida was at 406, placing the city in the ‘severe’ category while in Gurugram the air quality remained ‘very poor’ with an AQI of 346.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".
With continued dip in the air quality in the national capital, the Commission for Air Quality Management on Tuesday directed the Delhi government to intensify preventive measures and consider deploying water sprinklers and anti-smog guns round-the-clock to check spiralling air pollution levels in the city.