Thousands of people including hundreds of school children were part of Run For Unity in Delhi on Thursday, when air pollution level was "severe" in the city. (Photo: Getty Images)

If you, by any chance, logged on to the website of SAFAR India (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research), you would have seen that of the four city maps displayed on its homepage, only Delhi’s was marked in dark red. This means the air quality index (24-hour) in Delhi is severe.

If you took your cursor on the map, an info-box pops up and scrolls down warning about the pollution level with a list of prescriptions for EVERYONE (in capital letters as shown here). Here is how the advisory goes:

Avoid all physical activity outdoors. Give a miss to walk today.

Stop any activity level if you experience any unusual coughing, chest discomfort, wheezing, breathing difficulty, or fatigue and consult doctor.

If the room has windows, close them.

If the air conditioner provides a fresh air intake option, close it.

Avoid burning anything, such as wood, candles or even incense.

Keep the room clean don’t vacuum. Do wet mopping frequently.

Masks known as N-95 or P-100 respirators may only help if you go out.

Do not rely on dust masks for protection.

All of these typed in red background. Yet, against this weather setting thousands of people including hundreds of children were called on to head outdoors as part of the government’s Run For Unity programme. School children don't come for run on their own when it is a working day. They were made to run despite hazardous air pollution level in Delhi.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off the run at the national stadium shortly after 7 am. At another event, Union minister Piyush Goyal flagged off the run. The SAFAR air quality index still showed severe for Delhi.

Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah flags off Run For Unity’ at National Stadium, on the occasion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas. pic.twitter.com/SpjcE7HJYv ANI (@ANI) October 31, 2019

A PTI report said none were seen using a face mask when they ran for unity to mark 144th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first deputy prime minister of the country and the man known for having united more than 560 princely states after Independence into India.

The participants ran through a 1.5-km stretch around India Gate in the heart of the national capital, which saw fourth consecutive day of very poor to severe pollution levels.

Delhi: Union Minister Piyush Goyal flags off 'Run For Unity', on the occasion of 144th birth anniversary of #SardarVallabhbhaiPatel. pic.twitter.com/zf1ksV6MeA ANI (@ANI) October 31, 2019

The air quality of Delhi was expected to improve with the progress of the day. At 8 am, the overall air quality index stood at 408. It was a still better than 415 at 8 pm on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning 22 of 37 air quality monitoring stations of SAFAR across Delhi reported air quality in the severe category. An AQI between 0-50 is considered "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 301-400 "very poor" and 401-500 "severe".

SAFAR air quality index for Delhi and other cities on Thursday

Doctors in Delhi have advised the general people to take a lot of precautions such as wearing face masks and avoiding early morning and late evening walks. The doctors say concentration of pollutants is at its highest during this period. But school children ran for unity at 7 am.

Question is: Cannot a government sponsored Run For Unity be planned for better air quality? SAFAR had predicted improvement in air quality later in the day.

Alternatively, could the Delhi kids or residents have been asked not to take part in it? Could not Run For Unity have been shifted to safer cities? SAFAR website shows green maps for Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad with pop-ups saying Enjoy The Day.

You can see the air quality of your locality on India Today's InnVista here