Delhi records coldest August day in 14 years after heavy rain lashes city

New Delhi: The national capital recorded its coldest August day in at least 14 years on Saturday, with the maximum temperature settling at 26.4 degrees Celsius, 7.8 degrees below normal, after relentless rain lashed the city.

The available data since 2011 shows that the previous lowest maximum temperature for August was 27.9 degrees Celsius in 2012, whereas the 2020 figure is not available in the IMD records.

The persistent downpour began around midnight on Friday and continued throughout Saturday.


IMD data showed that Delhi's primary weather station, Safdarjung, received 78.7 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8:30 am on Saturday. Other stations recorded heavy showers as well - Pragati Maidan logged 100 mm, Lodhi Road 80 mm, Pusa 69 mm and Palam 31.8 mm.

Additionally, under overcast skies and intermittent rain, the capital recorded a maximum temperature of 26.4 degrees Celsius, 7.8 notches below normal, while the minimum temperature was 23.8 degrees Celsius, 3.2 notches below average.

According to the data, it is also among the 10 lowest maximum temperatures for August at Safdarjung station since 1969.

The weather department has forecast cloudy skies and rain for Sunday.