With Chandigarh's Air Quality Index (AQI) crossing the 500 mark or the ‘severe’ level Thursday morning, the administration said it is looking to order the closure of schools. Early on Thursday, Chandigarh’s AQI was at 501 — the first time in the last many years. Then at 10 am, Chandigarh’s Air Quality Index was 456 and 451 at the Sector 22 and Sector 53 monitoring stations, respectively. At 12, AQI was at 460 and 455 at these monitoring stations, respectively. An AQI of 363 was recorded at the Sector 25 monitoring station. Officials of the Chandigarh administration said the decision to close schools will be taken if the condition persists. A senior official said, “A call shall be taken on this soon. Suggestions have been received for the closure of the schools. A meeting is being held for the same." Meanwhile, Congress MP Manish Tewari also urged the UT Administrator to consider closing the schools, if situation persists. "Chandigarh has an AQI of 500 today. If things stay this way I urge the Hon’ble Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh @Gulab_kataria to seriously consider shutting down all schools, especially for small children till the situation mitigates," Tewari posted on X. AQI is considered ‘good’ at between 0 and 50, and it is in the ‘satisfactory’ category between 51 and 100. However, from 101 to 200, AQI is in the ‘moderate’ category. While it is considered poor if it is between 201 and 300, ‘very poor’ if it is from 301 to 400, and it slips into the ‘severe’ category when recorded between 401 and 500.
