Delhi’s Alarming Air Pollution, Odd-Even Rule Back, Schools Closed

New Delhi: The odd-even rule for vehicles will be re-imposed in Delhi the day after Diwali and the closure of schools has been extended up to Class 11 because of the rising air pollution in the capital city.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Monday that all schools in Delhi will be closed except for Classes 10 and 12 till November 10.  Earlier classes up to Class 5 were suspended because of the rising air pollution.

The odd-even rule for vehicles will be back in Delhi for a week on November 13, the day after Diwali.

Under this rule, only vehicles with registration numbers ending with an odd digit will be allowed on Delhi roads on odd-number days and those with even digits will be allowed on even-number days.

Delhi remains covered by a thick blanket of toxic smog for nearly a week now. The overall air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 488 on Monday morning.