India, March 11 -- Delhi's air quality deteriorated to the "poor" category even as the minimum temperature continued to rise and was two degrees above normal at 15.7degC on Tuesday. An average air quality index (AQI) of 238 (poor) was recorded at 9am on Tuesday compared to 197 (moderate) at 4pm on Monday.

A warm day was expected with the mercury likely to hover around 33-35degC, the highest so far this year. On Sunday, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 32.8degC and 32.6degC on Monday. Light rain was expected on Thursday and Friday.

Nights were set to get warmer. The minimum temperature was expected to hover between 17-19degC on Wednesday. It was 15.2degC on Monday.

The AQI has oscillated between "poor" and "moderate" zones since ...