New Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS): Light rains accompanied by winds on Monday turned Delhi pleasantly cool with the maximum temperature dropping to 22 degrees Celsius, against Sunday's 28.7 degrees - warmest January day since 2012.

"At Safdarjung, Delhi recorded 1.2 mm of rainfall on Monday. This kind of weather will continue to bring down the maximum and increase minimum temperatures in Delhi by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius for the next 2-3 days," an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told IANS.

On Tuesday, he said, the national capital will again witness light rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds. "This will further bring down the maximum temperature to 20 degrees Celsius. However, the minimum is likely to remain at 11 degrees," the official said.

As per the IMD, this sudden change in the weather is owing to two western disturbances over the northern hills and its induced cyclonic circulation over the northwestern plains which is expected to remain till the end of the week.

In terms of pollution, the authorities have forecast an improvement in Delhi's air quality from "very poor" to "poor" by Wednesday.

The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi at 4 p.m on Monday stood at 346 (very poor), against Sunday's "severe" air quality at 404.

"A significant improvement is expected further as there is an appreciable increase in the wind speed to 4.6 kmph from Sunday's 2.8 kmph. Due to the predicted rainfall, air quality is likely to improve to 'poor' levels by Wednesday," System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research said in its daily pollution analysis.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), Faridabad at 319, Ghaziabad at 375, Greater Noida at 357 and Noida at 352 also improved to "very poor". Gurugram, on the other hand, recorded "poor" quality of air.