Delhi and its adjoining areas experienced a rainy afternoon on Friday, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to elevate the yellow warning for the city to a red alert, cautioning of more rains accompanied with thunderstorms.
Delhi on Friday recorded minimum temperature at 25.5 degrees Celsius, 0.1 degrees above normal, according to station-wise data from Palam, while Lodhi Road recorded 27.6 degrees Celsius, 2.6 degrees above normal. Meanwhile, Haryana recorded its first rainfall deficit for August in three years, receiving 138.5 mm of rain against the normal 146.1 mm, a shortfall of 5%, according to IMD data. Gurugram recorded 217.4 mm of rainfall against a normal of 185.1 mm, a surplus of 17%, placing the district in the normal rainfall category, as per IMD. The city received 66.5 mm of rainfall between August 21 and 27, which was 58% above its normal weekly rainfall.
The maximum temperature was expected to hover around 32 degrees Celsius, while humidity was recorded at 75 per cent in the morning hours. Delhi recorded 354.1 mm of rainfall between August 1 and August 30 till 5:30pm, more than 120mm above the IMD’s long-period average (LPA) of 233.1 mm for the month, HT earlier reported. The city had also logged excess August rainfall in 2025 and 2024, when it received 400.81mm and 390.3mm, respectively. These were the first instances since 2020 when August rainfall crossed the LPA, with the city recording 237 mm that year. Since 2011, Delhi has crossed the August rainfall LPA only six times — in 2012, 2013, 2020, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The latest spell comes after a wetter-than-normal August for the capital.
