The minimum temperature fell over past the 24 hours, with Wednesday recording 12.4 degree Celsius, the season's average, against 13.5 degrees on Tuesday.

The maximum temperature was likely to hover around 28 degrees Celsius.

"There will be mixture of smoke and haze. In the morning, the sky will remain clear but later it may get partly cloudy," an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was 391 at 10 a.m., merely 10 points from being 'severe', on a scale of 0 to 500.

The humidity also remained high at 93 per cent in the morning, making it difficult for pollutants to disperse.

The national capital faces westerly and southwesterly winds, which being moist were also not supportive of pollution dispersion.

The average presence of particle pollutants, across 37 areas of Delhi during the morning hours were on the verge of 'severe' category.