School holiday today: Are schools open today in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida as GRAP 4 kicks in? Know here

As Delhi's air pollution worsened to the ‘severe’ category on Monday, the Centre's air quality panel for Delhi-NCR imposed the strictest Stage 4 curbs under the winter air pollution control panel. As per the guidelines, classes for students in grades VI-IX and XI in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar must operate in hybrid mode (physical and online) under Stage 4.

Stage 4 curbs under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for winters also include a ban on the entry of polluting trucks carrying non-essential goods into Delhi and mandatory shifting of school classes, except those for X and XII, to hybrid mode.

Are schools open today in Delhi-NCR?

Schools in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar must operate online for students up to Class 5 under GRAP 3 restrictions. After the implementation of GRAP 4 guidelines, classes from 5th to 11th standard in these areas will function in hybrid mode. There is no official information about school holidays today in the Delhi-NCR regions. Hence, parents must confirm online classes with the schools.

What is the hybrid mode for schools?

School classes will not completely function online or offline, as the school authorities will opt for a combination of online and offline classes based on feasibility. The choice of online mode is left to students and their guardians.

Noida school time change

The timing of schools in Noida will change from Tuesday in the wake of cold weather conditions and pollution. The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has asked all schools in the district to start classes from 9 am on Tuesday, December 18.

GRAP 4 imposed in Delhi-NCR

GRAP-4 was imposed in Delhi on Monday after its 24-hour-average Air Quality Index (AQI), which was 379 at 4 pm, breached the 400 mark around 10 pm. Delhi AQI worsened due to extremely low temperatures, calm wind conditions, and the buildup of an inversion layer. The decision to implement stage 4 guidelines followed the CAQM's direction to invoke GRAP stage 3 on Monday afternoon.