New Delhi, Feb. 19 -- Patchy showers, overcast skies, and gusty winds brought temporary relief to the Capital on Wednesday as mercury dropped sharply after two days of over 30degC-temperature. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) also lifted measures under stage-2 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) though there was no significant improvement in air quality.

The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 214 (poor), according to the 4pm bulletin. It was the fifth continuous day that the AQI was in the "poor" category, just a few points lower than Tuesday's average AQI of 249.

The CAQM said it was lifting restrictions under Grap stage-2 since "as per the dynamic model and forecasts for meteorological conditions an...