Delhi’s air quality has plunged into the severe danger zone — the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded readings near 400, prompting urgent action. As a precaution, the Delhi Directorate of Education has suspended all outdoor sports activities in schools, citing risk to children’s health amid toxic smog.

In parallel, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to relocate the knockout phase of its men’s Under-23 State A One-Day tournament — originally planned in Delhi between November 25 and December 1 — to Mumbai, due to the worsening air pollution.

Legal authorities have expressed concern: the Supreme Court of India described making children play outdoors in such air as akin to “putting them in gas chambers.” Schools and sports bodies in NCR have been directed to postpone competitions during high-pollution months.

Together these steps reflect a mounting acknowledgment that air-quality crises are not just environmental issues but public-health and education crises — forcing major institutions to adapt, relocate, and delay routines until the air clears.