Air Quality Authority Halts Delhi Outdoor Sports Amid Pollution Crisis

The Commission for Air Quality Management has ordered an immediate halt to outdoor sports in Delhi-NCR due to harmful air quality. Citing health risks, authorities are instructed to enforce compliance, with measures including construction bans and potential school closures if conditions worsen.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has taken decisive action against outdoor sports activities in Delhi and the NCR, citing the severe health risks posed by the current polluted air quality. The directive aims to protect children, who are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of pollution.

Addressing the chief secretaries of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, the CAQM expressed concern over ongoing outdoor sports despite previous instructions aligned with a November 19 Supreme Court order. Non-compliance persists despite the Commission's clear directive to postpone all physical sports events during severe pollution months.

Under the strictures of the GRAP air pollution control plan, additional measures include banning all construction and demolition, except for essentials. Authorities must now enforce hybrid learning in schools and consider further emergency responses, like vehicle operation restrictions, to manage the escalating pollution crisis.

(With inputs from agencies.)