The national capital on Sunday witnessed a sunny day with the maximum temperature hovering around 32 degrees Celsius. This comes two days after the Holi celebrations, during which Delhi saw light showers in the evening.

On Saturday, the weather department had predicted generally cloudy skies with light rain or drizzle on Sunday. As far as the air quality in the city is concerned, it was recorded in the ‘satisfactory’ category.

The IMD has predicted strong winds throughout the day in the coming days and fewer chances of rain throughout the week. The skies, however, are likely to remain cloudy in the coming week, and the minimum temperature is expected to remain 19 degrees Celsius.

According to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the air quality index (AQI) was 89 at 9 am. AQI levels are categorised as 0-50 ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’.

On Saturday, Delhi’s air quality was the cleanest it has been in the last three years on any day between January 1 and March 15, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s minimum temperature on Sunday was 18 degrees Celsius, 2.9 notches above the seasonal average, the India Meteorological Department said.

Delhi on Saturday recorded an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 85, which is the lowest in the last three years for the period from January 1 to March 15.

According to the Commission for Air Quality Management, this is the first day of the year on which the AQI has managed to fall under the ambit of the ‘Satisfactory’ category, meaning that the index number remains between 50 and 100.

“Today, Delhi recorded an average AQI of 85, the lowest in the last three years for the period from 01st January to 15th March. Today’s AQI is also the first day of the current year with a ‘Satisfactory’ AQI (AQI 51-100). Delhi has witnessed a ‘Satisfactory’ AQI in the month of March for the first time in five years since 2020,” the Commission for Air Quality Management posted on X.

As the winters recede, temperatures have started to soar. Ainapur Hobli village in the Kalaburagi district of northern Karnataka recorded the maximum temperature in the last 24 hours at 42.8 degrees Celsius.