New Delhi: All schools in Delhi up to Class 5 will switch to online learning until further notice due to rising pollution levels in the city, Chief Minister Atishi announced on Thursday. As pollution reaches critical levels, the central pollution watchdog, CAQM, enforced restrictions under Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR earlier on Thursday, as reported by news agency PTI.

"With the worsening pollution levels, all primary schools in Delhi will transition to online classes until further directions," Atishi, who also holds the education portfolio, stated in a post on X.

The Directorate of Education (DoE) has directed the heads of all government, private, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) schools to halt offline classes for children up to Class 5.

"All heads of government, aided, and unaided private recognized schools under DoE, MCD, and NDMC in Delhi are directed to suspend physical classes for children up to Class 5," read an official statement.

The DoE has also instructed school heads to ensure online classes are conducted for students in these grades until further notice.

Delhi's air quality has remained in the 'severe' category for the second consecutive day, prompting the enforcement of stringent anti-pollution measures.

The restrictions will take effect on Friday.

Measures under Stage III of GRAP, announced by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), include shifting classes for students up to Class 5 to online mode.

The GRAP for the National Capital Region (NCR) is organized into four stages based on adverse air quality levels in Delhi: Stage I – 'poor' (AQI 201-300); Stage II – 'very poor' (AQI 301-400); Stage III – 'severe' (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV – 'severe plus' (AQI >450).