New Delhi (PTI): The national capital woke up to a "very poor" air quality on Monday although the AQI improved marginally from a day earlier.

While the minimum temperature was recorded at 20.4 degrees Celsius, four notches above the season's average, the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 9 am was 327.

On Sunday, the AQI was 359, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

The IMD reported a humidity level of 88 per cent in the morning.

The weather department has forecast predominantly clear skies throughout the day, with the maximum temperature expected to reach around 34.2 degrees Celsius.

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Ranchi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced Gamliyel Hembrom as its candidate for the Barhait constituency in the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, where he will face off against Chief Minister Hemant Soren. This marks Hembrom’s second attempt to challenge Soren, having previously contested in 2019 under the AJSU Party banner, where he polled 2,573 votes and finished in fourth place.

In its second candidate list for Jharkhand, the BJP also named Vikash Mahto as the candidate for Tundi. The announcement follows the release of the BJP’s first list on October 19, which included 66 candidates for the 81-seat assembly. The BJP is contesting 68 seats, leaving the remaining to its allies, including the AJSU Party, JD(U), and LJP (Ram Vilas).

Hemant Soren, the current MLA from Barhait, a JMM stronghold in Sahibganj district, retained the seat in 2019 with a significant margin of 25,740 votes against BJP’s Simon Malto. The JMM, which had won 30 of the 43 seats it contested in 2019, has already announced candidates for the same number of seats in this election. The I.N.D.I.A. bloc partners, including the JMM and Congress, are jointly contesting 70 seats, while the RJD and Left parties are fielding candidates in the remaining 11.

The Jharkhand Assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, with counting set for November 23. The electorate includes 2.60 crore eligible voters, comprising 11.84 lakh first-time voters and a significant number of persons with disabilities, senior citizens, and third-gender electors.

In 2019, the JMM-led alliance won a majority with 47 seats, unseating the BJP, which had secured 25 seats. Other parties, including JVM-P, AJSU Party, CPI (ML), and NCP, had also gained representation.