New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS): Delhi's air quality index (AQI) improved further from 'severe plus' to 'poor' on Wednesday morning , bringing relief to people after a week as the AQI was recorded at 249 and the concentration of the particulate matter reading PM 10 at moderate levels.

The PM 10 count is at 178 in the moderate category, seen after many days and the PM 2.5 count is at 105 in the poor category.

There is a huge improvement over Tuesday's air quality also. The AQI stood at 356, PM 10 at 278 and PM 2.5 at 193 in the very poor category, on Tuesday.

The AQI at 249 is less than half the peak levels seen on Sunday when the capital was caught in a disastrous air choke.

While many measures have been taken by authorities, the weather conditions are playing the most important part.

Despite stubble burning in Punjab at its highest of the season, the wind speed in Delhi has done the reverse and helped the AQI to improve very sharply.

According to an earlier forecast by Safar India, the AQI is rapidly recovering from the severe category largely due to faster winds to flush it out.

The trend seen on Wednesday also emphasises the point that stubble burning is just one factor in the overall pollution paradigm.