Pre-monsoon Showers Cool Delhi, Northern India on April 8

Pre-monsoon showers and thunderstorms swept across northern and central India on April 8, 2026, delivering widespread relief from rising heat and prompting alerts from the India Meteorological Department for stormy conditions in at least 11 states, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Kerala.

In the national capital and surrounding regions, overcast skies, gusty winds, and light rain cooled temperatures significantly. Delhi recorded a maximum of 28.2 degrees Celsius at its base weather station in Safdarjung, 6.9 degrees below normal and the lowest April reading in 11 years, surpassing the previous low of 27.2 degrees on April 23, 2016. The city logged 6.4 millimeters of rain in the 24 hours ending at 8:30 a.m. on April 8, the wettest spell since April 4, 2023. Other stations like Palam reported 0.6 millimeters, while air quality improved to a satisfactory level with an AQI of 93. Minimum temperatures dipped to 16.8 degrees Celsius, also below normal.

The India Meteorological Department attributed the shift to an active western disturbance over northern Punjab and adjoining Jammu and Kashmir, which triggered light to moderate rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning, and winds up...