A brief spell of showers in Delhi on Monday helped push the quantum of showers this August past the weather department’s long-period average for the month, which still has three weeks to go, underscoring what has been an unusually wet spell for the Capital deep into the monsoon.
The Safdarjung station – considered Delhi’s representative weather gauge – clocked just 4mm of rain on Monday, enough to drive the month’s total to 234.5mm, past the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) long-period average (LPA) of 233.1mm for the month.
Also read | Rain expected in Delhi after brief monsoon break, city to cross normal rainfall level for August
This is the earliest rains in Delhi have crossed the mark in at least 15 years, with just seven days of showers in the first 10 days of the month.
Last year, Delhi clocked a significant rain surplus, with 400.81mm of precipitation between August 1 and 31, but it crossed the LPA only on August 15, after 11 days of rain. In 2024, the city took one more day to reach the same mark, crossing the LPA on August 16, after 13 days of rain.
The consistent rainy days have helped keep temperatures in the city in check this month, with day temperatures hovering near the normal range, and even falling below it. On August 6 and 7, the maximum temperature stood at 27.6 °C and 27.5 °C, respectively, over 6 degrees below the normal of 34.2°C.
{{/usCountry}}The consistent rainy days have helped keep temperatures in the city in check this month, with day temperatures hovering near the normal range, and even falling below it. On August 6 and 7, the maximum temperature stood at 27.6 °C and 27.5 °C, respectively, over 6 degrees below the normal of 34.2°C.
{{/usCountry}}Also read | Rain lashes Delhi as IMD issues yellow alert across capital, NCR
The average maximum temperatures in June, July, and August so far have remained close to the IMD’s monthly LPAs. June saw a mean maximum temperature of 39.2°C, only 0.2°C above the climatological mean, while July’s mean maximum temperature was recorded at 35.5°C, only 0.1°C below the climatological mean. The average maximum temperature for August so far is 33.1°C, while the climatological mean is 34.2°C.
Wetter-than-normal monsoon
It has been a wetter-than-normal monsoon for Delhi from June 1 to August 10, with 534.3mm of showers.
Delhi received 258mm rain in July against an average of 209.7mm. June received a deficit with 41.8mm rain, against an average of 74.1mm.
Also read | Delhi records 98% of August rainfall in just 5 days, surge in rain-related disasters
This comes even as India continues to grapple with a bruising El Nino that threatens to choke the rest of the monsoon. The weather system, characterised by a warming of the waters of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, drove ocean temperatures to a new record this July. The average sea surface temperature reached 20.96°C last month, against the July 2023 record of 20.89°C.
To be sure, the showers have largely been concentrated over a few days.
Safdarjung recorded 224.7mm between August 4 and 8, the rainiest five days this season and the most rain Delhi has recorded within five days in August for at least 15 years. Last year, the city recorded only 144mm between August 1 and 10.
In the last 15 years, Delhi’s August rain has crossed the LPA only five times – in 2025, 2024, 2020, 2013, and 2012.
More rains expected
With IMD forecasting more rain in the coming week, experts said the city is likely to end the month well in excess.
“More rains are expected in the next 24 hours, which could add around 50mm to 80 mm to the current figure, while rainfall during the entire week may raise the number to 100mm. Tomorrow we are predicting strong rain across Delhi NCR, which will not be as severe as last Friday, but during the afternoon and evening, there are chances in some areas of a downpour which causes waterlogging,” said Navdeep Dahiya, an amateur meteorologist.
Monday’s rain, largely concentrated in south and east Delhi, pushed the city into a fresh cycle of snarls.
IMD has issued a yellow alert for light to moderate rain on Tuesday, predicting “a few spells of very light to light rain at most places with moderate rain at a few places during early morning to noon,” while another spell of very light to light rain is expected towards the evening or night.
IMD categorises rainfall up to 15.5mm as light, 15.6–64.4mm as moderate, 64.5–115.5mm as heavy and 115.6–204.4mm as very heavy.
Despite the showers, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has remained in the “satisfactory” category since the start of the month.
On Monday, the Central Pollution Control Board recorded the daily average AQI at 89.
“There will be certain hours during which the AQI dips into the ‘good’ category, but largely the average will remain in the ‘satisfactory’ category because during the hours when it is not raining and the wind speed is also not high, the AQI increases,” Dahiya said. The lowest AQI average this month, 63, was recorded on Friday and Saturday.