The national capital woke up to an improved air quality on Monday as the Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 273 in the 'poor' category as of 8 am significantly better than yesterday's AQI at 311.

CNG and electric vehicles remain unaffected, despite the restrictions, highlighting the city's commitment to promoting cleaner alternatives.

The 24-hour average AQI at 4 pm was slightly lower than Sunday's 285. Since October 30, air quality had been in the ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ categories.

Delhi has received a respite from toxic air in the first two days of December as the city's AQI remained in the "poor" category on Monday, recording a reading of 280

However, the city’s air quality remains suboptimal, as an AQI between 201 and 300 is still considered harmful to sensitive groups. The absence of dense fog has allowed sunlight to reach the surface, aiding the scattering of pollutants as the mixing height stayed relatively high.

National capital sees marginal improvement from 'very poor' levels, but monitoring stations reveal alarming hotspots exceeding AQI 300