New Delhi: The Delhi government on Monday directed schools to shift from hybrid to online mode for students up to Class-5 in view of the severe air pollution levels in the national capital.

According to a circular issued by the Directorate of Education, physical classes for students of nursery to Class-5 in all government, government-aided and unaided recognised private schools in Delhi have been discontinued until further orders.

The decision has been taken due to the prevailing high Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city, it said.

Schools have been directed to conduct classes for these students only in online mode. However, classes for the remaining grades will be conducted in hybrid mode, according to the directions issued by the education department on December 13.

Delhi's AQI stood in the ‘severe' category on Monday with a reading of 427, after touching the second highest AQI on record for December on Sunday at 461.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality was ‘severe' at 27 monitoring stations across the city on Monday, with 12 stations in the ‘very poor' range. Wazirpur recorded the worst air quality at 475.

According to the CBCP, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

PTI