New Delhi, Dec 30 || Delhi's air quality improved to the 'moderate' category on Monday, facilitated by the record rain that lashed the city between last Friday and Saturday.
The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi at around 6 a.m. on Monday stood at 183.
As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good," 51-100 "satisfactory," 101-200 "moderate," 201-300 "poor," 301-400 "very poor," 401-450 "severe," and above 450 "severe plus".
Of the AQI at 38 monitoring stations in the city listed in the Sameer app, which provides hourly data on the National Air Quality Index, the AQI at 23 stood in the moderate category, while one station -- IHBAS, Dilshad Garden - was in the 'satisfactory' level with an AQI of 95.
Delhi on Sunday recorded a maximum temperature of 18 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The minimum temperature stood at 13 degrees Celsius on Sunday, six notches above the season's average for this time of the month.
The 24-hour AQI was recorded at 225 in the 'poor' category at 4 p.m. on Sunday. On Saturday, the city's AQI was in the 'moderate' category.
Delhi recorded the highest single-day December rainfall in 101 years between Friday and Saturday. According to the weather department, Delhi recorded 41.2 mm of rain in the past 24 four hours till 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.
According to the IMD, the capital recorded the highest-ever rainfall on a single day in the month on December 3, 1923, at 75.7 mm.