Delhi witnessed an unusual weather shift on Friday as continuous rainfall brought temperatures crashing, with the capital recording its lowest October
maximum temperature in 75 years. The mercury at Safdarjung, the city’s base weather station, dropped to 20.7 degrees Celsius, which was 10.3 degrees below the seasonal average.
The city also experienced its wettest October day in four years, receiving 61.4 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Friday. This was the sixth-highest daily October rainfall recorded since 1951. The previous higher rainfall was recorded on October 9, 2022, when the city received 74 mm.
Other weather stations also reported unusually low maximum temperatures. Palam recorded 20.5 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road 20.6 degrees Celsius, the Ridge 20.8 degrees Celsius and Ayanagar 20.4 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the minimum temperature at Safdarjung settled at 17.2 degrees Celsius. High humidity and shallow fog during morning and evening hours added to the winter-like conditions.
The rainfall also helped clear the air, bringing Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) down to 60 on Friday. This was the cleanest October day since October 10, 2022, when the AQI stood at 44.
According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Delhi recorded an average AQI of 167 in October 2026, the lowest monthly average for October since 2015. The corresponding figures were 223 in 2025 and 234 in 2024.
CREA’s Manoj Kumar highlighted the role of weather conditions in improving air quality.
“AQI was already relatively low before GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) was imposed, and declined to 60 on October 30, coinciding with 61.4 mm of rainfall at Safdarjung. This highlights the importance of accounting for meteorological influences before attributing improvements in air quality to GRAP measures.”
Despite the improvement, the relief may be temporary. The Air Quality Early Warning System has forecast moderate air quality on Saturday, followed by a likely deterioration to the poor category on November 1.
Unfavourable weather conditions are expected to restrict the dispersal of pollutants over the coming days.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast partly cloudy skies for Saturday, with maximum and minimum temperatures likely to settle around 24 and 16 degrees Celsius, respectively.
