Delhi: Although the overall air quality index (AQI) fell further to 285 on Thursday morning, just below the 301 threshold that places conditions into the very poor bracket, Delhi’s air quality remained in the poor category for the third consecutive day, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

At least eleven monitoring stations around the city reported AQI values over 300 as of 7 a.m., putting them in the very bad category.

The AQI was 300 in Anand Vihar, 328 at Ashok Vihar, 305 at Chandni Chowk, and 309 at ITO.

Greater Noida’s Knowledge Parks 3 and 5 had AQI values of 235 and 331, respectively, while Noida’s overall AQI was 294 (Poor), with sector-wise AQI ranging from 246 to 331.

Wednesday’s 24-hour average AQI for the city was 259, which was somewhat better than Tuesday’s reading of 282. The capital had some respite on Tuesday after nine days in a row of air quality falling into the extremely bad zone. On Wednesday, stronger midday breezes allowed conditions to stay in the poor category for the second day in a row.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as excellent, 51 to 100 as acceptable, 101 to 200 as moderate, 201 to 300 as bad, 301 to 400 as extremely poor, and 401 to 500 as severe, according to CPCB classifications.

In addition to variations in air quality, the city’s temperatures also somewhat decreased. Wednesday’s minimum temperature in Delhi was 10 degrees Celsius, which is around 0.4 degrees below the seasonal average. The day’s highest temperature was 25.2 degrees Celsius, which is also about 0.4 degrees below average.

Minimum temperatures in northwest India, including Delhi and the nearby NCR cities of Noida, Gurugram, and Faridabad, are expected to stay constant for the next two days before increasing by two to four degrees Celsius over the next three days and then stabilizing, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD has forecast partly cloudy weather on Thursday, with a low temperature of around 8 degrees Celsius and a high temperature of about 24 degrees.