Delhi bans outdoor activities in schools due to worsening air pollution

NEW DELHI, NOV 21 : In a week marked by alarming pollution spikes and sharp public scrutiny, both the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court have turned their attention to the youngest and most vulnerable victims of the toxic air: school children. Experts have welcomed this move.

Earlier, on Thursday, the Delhi High Court had made an unusually direct observation while hearing a plea filed by minor students.

Justice Sachin Datta had questioned why the Delhi government continued to schedule outdoor sports during the Capital’s most polluted months, remarking that children “should not take part in outdoor sports” between November and January. He noted that the authorities had failed to safeguard children’s health, and stressed that the sports calendar must be revised to keep outdoor activities out of these hazardous months.

The petitioners’ counsel, had also pointed out that several outdoor sports events had been lined up this month despite the air quality slipping into the ‘very poor’ bracket. She reminded the court that the Department of Education is responsible for preparing the sports calendar, and even produced a photograph shared by a pulmonologist, showing the effect of fine particulate pollution on children’s lungs, to underscore what is at stake.

-PTI