In a literal godsend from the heavens, the citizens of Delhi were lucky enough this week to take in their cleanest breaths in the past year. The monsoon winds brought the much needed respite to the choking lungs of the millions of the residents of the capital as they skimmed away the dust. The result was the air quality turning ‘satisfactory’ level results for the first time in 2018.

Delhiites got the gift of pure air from monsoon gods as the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city touched 83 (satisfactory), as per the Central Pollution Control Board data. According to a report by PTI, it was the onset of south-west monsoon at the start of the week that set things in motion. This turned the searing heat and the uncontrollable pollution a notch down after it hit peak last month. 

If the trend continues, Delhi might see further dip in air pollution and the AQI might finally touch the ‘good’ level. An AQI between 0-50 is considered "Good", 51-100 "Satisfactory", 101-200 "Moderate", 201-300 "Poor", 301-400 "Very Poor", and 401-500 "Severe". The was a major scare in the state recently as the dust storms from Rajasthan had pushed the air quality to ‘very severe’ levels with the AQI touching 999 in some areas of Delhi which was an alarming situation for the health of the millions of people residing in the city.

"The air quality will further improve tomorrow and in the coming days. The monsoon winds cleaned the dusty air and brought the air quality to satisfactory level," Gufran Beig, a scientist at the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research institute (SAFAR), told PTI.