Chandigarh's Air quality Hits Hazardous Levels; Authorities Consider School Closures

Chandigarh's Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 500, marking a severe level, on Thursday morning. The administration announced that it is considering school closures due to the extreme air quality conditions across the state. Early Thursday, Chandigarh's AQI reached 501 for the first time in many years.Administration officials in Chandigarh stated that if the situation continues, the decision to close schools will be made. "A call will be taken on this shortly," stated a top official. There have been suggestions for closing the schools. A meeting is also being conducted for this reason.Chandigarh's Air Quality Index at the Sector 22 and Sector 53 monitoring stations was 456 and 451, respectively, at 10 a.m. At 12 a.m., the AQIs at these monitoring stations were 455 and 460, respectively. The monitoring station in Sector 25 recorded an AQI of 363 points.Meanwhile, Congress MP Manish Tewari on the X Post asked the UT Administrator to consider closing the schools if the situation continues. "Chandigarh's AQI is 500 today. If things stay this manner, I ask the Hon'ble Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh, @Gulab_kataria, to seriously consider closing all schools, particularly for small children, until the situation mitigates." The air quality index is regarded as 'good' between 0 and 50 and 'satisfactory' between 51 and 100. However, from 101 to 200, the AQI is in the 'moderate' range. It is classified as poor between 201 and 300,'very poor' between 301 and 400, and 'severe' between 401 and 500.