Delhi air crisis: Schools to reopen on Monday after five-day break due to smog

New Delhi: All schools in the national capital will reopen on Monday after a five-day break announced by the Delhi government in view of the alarming air pollution levels, an official said on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_4206355” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Volunteers distribute face masks in New Delhi. AP[/caption] Gurugram, in the National Capital Region region, however, announced that the schools will remain closed on Monday. “Schools will reopen tomorrow and the break is not being further extended,” a Delhi government official said. As a thick smog hung over Delhi, leaving people gasping for breath since last week, the government had decided to close schools after it received reports from authorities concerned that the PM 10 level was recorded at “close to severe” air quality. Meanwhile, after a brief let-up, the pollution levels skyrocketed in Delhi with the air quality becoming hazardous, which environmental agencies consider unfit for inhalation even by healthy people. The pollution monitoring authorities said there may be some respite from tomorrow evening as surface winds will gain momentum. The SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) said there was a possibility of rains in the evening of 14 November. However, experts say rains brings temporary relief, but also leads to accumulation of particulates due to high-levels of moisture. The hourly graph of the Central Control Room for Air Quality Management, which had briefly fallen below emergency levels yesterday, recorded PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentration at 478 and 713 microgrammes per cubic metre by afternoon.