Strong winds improve Delhi air quality; temperature settles at 22.6 deg C

Strong winds led to a significant improvement in Delhi's air quality on Thursday, even as the city recorded a maximum temperature of 22.6 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year.

Residents of the Delhi-NCR witnessed mainly clear skies with shallow to moderate fog in isolated pockets during the day.

Precipitation and strong winds over the last two days have improved Delhi's air quality significantly.

The 24-hour air quality index (AQI) in the national capital read 172 at 4 pm which falls in the 'moderate' category.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature was recorded at 9.1 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average.

Humidity levels oscillated between 100 per cent and 41 per cent, it said.

The AQI in neighbouring Gurugram (140) and Faridabad (169) were also recorded in the 'moderate' category.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good', 51 and 100 satisfactory', 101 and 200 moderate', 201 and 300 poor', 301 and 400 very poor', and 401 and 500 severe'.

The weather on Friday is likely to show similar trends, and the maximum and the minimum temperatures are expected to be around 22 degrees Celsius and 11 degrees celsius respectively.

The weatherman predicted mainly clear skies for Friday with shallow fog in the morning, along with the probability of strong surface winds throughout the day.

On Wednesday, the maximum temperature in the national capital settled at 21.8 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 12.8 degrees Celsius.