Rain lashes Delhi, improves AQI, brings in winter chill

New Delhi, Dec 12: The air quality in Delhi remained in the 'severe' category for the second consecutive day on Thursday even as light rains lashed the city in the evening.

Under the influence of a western disturbance, the national capital recorded light rains with strong winds for nearly two hours, said Kuldeep Srivastava, the regional weather forecasting head of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

At 4 pm, the air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 429.

Delhi's suburbs, Ghaziabad (467), Noida (434), Greater Noida (423), Faridabad (410) and Gurgaon (395), also breathed extremely polluted air on Thursday.

An AQI between 301-400 is considered 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'. An AQI above 500 falls in the 'severe plus' category. Delhi recorded a low of 12.8 degrees Celsius and a high of 21.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the Met department said.

The relative humidity oscillated between 89 per cent and 75 per cent.

The weatherman said the temperature is likely to drop after Saturday.

The Met department has also forecast thunderstorm with hail on Friday. The minimum and maximum temperature are expected to be around 13 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius.