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Parents in distress as New Delhi’s air quality worsens

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Severe air quality in the Indian capital has put parents of school-going children in a difficult situation, as they send their young ones to school despite alarming pollution levels.

The AQI exceeded 500 in many places early in the day, said media reports. A reading over 400 affects healthy people, with serious impacts on those with existing diseases, the federal government says.

Parents who came to drop off their children in the morning on Friday (November 04) were worried about the damage that the exposure to the pollutants would cause to their children.

Children were wearing masks as a precaution against pollution as the city was engulfed in thick smog.

“When we wake up in the morning, we feel that we should not send our children to school,” says parent Shirkant Sharma.

“The immunity of class 9-12 students is not that strong. We are hearing that maybe classes would be online for students up to class 8 in Noida schools. But game activities are still going on and their respiratory system is getting worse. We want online classes to return,” says another parent, Nikki Vyas.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced primary schools would be shut from Saturday (November 05) owing to high air pollution.

Alarmed by abnormally high levels of air pollution in Delhi, India’s federal pollution control board on Thursday (November 03) evening banned the entry of diesel trucks carrying non-essential goods into the capital.

“The ever-increasing pollution is causing a lot of difficulties, especially to the elderly and children. It is causing breathing issues to people of old age. Pollution is also impacting children. I don’t know how they are going to survive. what will happen to them in the future?” says one of the residents.

The world’s most polluted capital is blanketed in smog every winter as cold, heavy air traps construction dust, vehicle emissions and smoke from the burning of crop stubble in neighbouring states to clear the fields for the next crop. Lower temperatures, calmer winds and their changing direction worsen the air quality from time to time.

New Delhi shuts down due to a thick blanket of smog

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