As the national capital gears up for India's 74th Republic Day celebrations, a moderate air quality index and partly cloudy skies are expected over Delhi today.

According to data by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research, the overall AQI in Delhi stands at 242.

The national capital logged the season's best air quality on Wednesday, with favourable wind speed dispersing pollutants.

The 24-hour average air quality index settled at 160 at 4 pm yesterday, the best after the AQI of 154 recorded on October 14, 2022. An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

Yesterday was the first moderate air quality day in January in 2023.

The India Meteorological Department said that the city will see moderate fog in the morning. No rainfall is expected.

The maximum temperature on today's Republic Day in Delhi will reach around 19 degrees Celsius and the minimum will be around 9 degrees Celsius, the IMD says.

The relative humidity at 8:30 am was 95 percent, the IMD bulletin said.

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The IMD had previously predicted drizzle for today's Republic Day celebrations which is now unlikely.

Cloudy weather in Delhi due to a western disturbance affecting northwest India has kept the minimum temperature within comfortable levels for around a week. Clouds trap heat that gets through during the day, keeping night-time temperatures above normal.

However, cloudy weather reduces daytime temperatures by preventing exposure to the sun.

With agency inputs.

First Published:Jan 26, 2023 9:28 AM IST