New Delhi: Widespread rain lashed the city Thursday, bringing temperatures down sharply and providing much-needed relief from humidity. With base station Safdarjung recording 56mm of rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm, the day saw a narrow gap of two degrees between the maximum and minimum temperatures.The maximum temperature settled at 27.6 degrees Celsius, seven notches below normal and down from 32.6 degrees Celsius Wednesday. The minimum temperature was 25.6 degrees Celsius, one notch below normal.Several areas witnessed intense spells of rain during the morning and afternoon. Lodhi Road received 60.4mm rain, Ridge 54.4mm, Pusa 31.5mm, Rajghat 29.3mm, Aya Nagar 22.3mm and Palam 14.6mm. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Friday, forecasting moderate-to-heavy rain across parts of Delhi.The rainfall between 15.6mm and 64.4mm in 24 hours is classified as moderate. IMD measures daily rainfall from 8.30am to 8.30am the following day. A day earlier, Safdarjung logged 18.7mm.With Thursday’s showers till 5.30pm, Delhi recorded 67.8mm of rainfall in Aug, exceeding the normal of 51.7mm for the period. The city received 400.8mm of rainfall in Aug 2025 against the monthly normal of 233.1mm.IMD said there was unlikely to be any significant change in maximum temperatures over the next seven days. It attributed the prevailing weather conditions to the active monsoon trough, a western disturbance in the middle and upper tropospheric westerlies, and persistent upper-air cyclonic circulations over southwest and southeast Uttar Pradesh.For Friday, the department has forecast the maximum temperature to hover between 31 and 33 degrees Celsius. Light-to-moderate rain is likely at many places, with heavy rain at isolated locations during the morning hours, followed by another spell of very light-to-light rain towards the evening or night.Delhi’s air quality remained satisfactory, with the air quality index at 74 against Wednesday’s 69.
