India, Sept. 23 -- Delhi's air quality has begun to deteriorate amid withdrawal of monsoon rains with the AQI reading of 151 (moderate) recorded on Wednesday morning.

The city's AQI, which was 118 on September 19, rose to 160 on September 20, 169 on September 21 and 178 on September 22, according to the 24-hour average at the Delhi Pollution Control Committee's monitoring system.

The latest reading puts Delhi in the "moderate" category, but the trend has been accompanied by hot and humid conditions.

On Wednesday, Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 24.8degC and the previous-day maximum of 36.1degC with rainfall likely throughout the day.

The data from the past few days shows a daily rise in pollution levels. With rainfall bec...