Noida: Schools in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad will hold classes for students up to Class 5 in hybrid mode from Thursday, after Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan was enforced across Delhi-NCR amid worsening air quality.
The order covers primary classes in the two Uttar Pradesh districts at the eastern edge of the national capital region. The Commission for Air Quality Management has kept the stricter GRAP stage in force.
Delhi's air stayed in the "very poor" band. The citywide AQI was 307 by Thursday afternoon, with NSUT Jaffarpur recording 399 and several other areas above 350, according to the day's readings. The capital's air has remained poor since Diwali.
Stage 3 brings restrictions on construction and demolition work and on a set of vehicle and dust-generating activities across Delhi-NCR. It is the third of four stages in the graded plan, and it is invoked when air quality slips into the "severe" range.
The hybrid order for the youngest students follows the pattern of the past two winters, when physical classes were curtailed first for primary sections and later, if the air worsened, for higher classes.
Separately, the CAQM has directed district authorities to assess and verify burnt areas after a spike in paddy stubble-burning incidents in Punjab, at a high-level review meeting on Thursday. The panel's direction followed reports of a rise in farm fires in the state.
Parents in Noida and Ghaziabad will watch two things: whether the hybrid arrangement is extended to middle and senior classes, and whether the weekend forecast allows a return to full physical classes.