Delhi-NCR woke up to a sharp chill on Saturday, 31 October 2026, a day after the capital registered its lowest October maximum temperature in 75 years — 20.7 degrees Celsius at the Safdarjung base station, which is 10.3 degrees below normal for the month, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The historic cold snap follows two days of persistent rainfall that reshaped weather records across the board.

Historic Temperature and Rainfall Records

The IMD confirmed that Friday's maximum temperature of 20.7°C at Safdarjung was the lowest October day maximum at the station since 1951 — a stretch of 75 years. The same day also emerged as the sixth-wettest October day since 1951 and the wettest in four years, with cumulative rainfall at Safdarjung reaching 123.3 mm until 8.30 am — against a monthly normal of just 15.1 mm. Relative humidity on both morning and evening readings touched 100 per cent.

Dark clouds continued to hang over the capital on Saturday, with intermittent rain and shallow fog in the early morning and late evening adding to the wintry atmosphere. Residents across the city reportedly reached for windbreakers and shawls — unusual attire for October in Delhi.

Air Quality Across Delhi-NCR Stations

Despite the cold and wet conditions, Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 110 at 8 am on Saturday, placing the city in the 'moderate' category. Readings varied considerably across monitoring stations: Ghoga recorded the cleanest air at 46, while Jahangirpuri registered the highest at 188 — still within the 'moderate' band.

Other station readings included Burari at 65, Vasundhara Enclave at 101, Uttam Nagar at 92, NIH Narela at 76, Punjabi Bagh at 176, Shadipur at 131, Sirifort at 116, Chandni Chowk at 128, Burari Crossing at 89, R.K. Puram at 118, ITO at 128, Anand Vihar at 110, Mundka at 143, Vivek Vihar at 141, Rohini at 147, and Bawana at 142.

Cleanest October Air in Over a Decade

The rain-washed skies delivered a notable air quality dividend. On Friday, Delhi's AQI touched 60 — the cleanest October reading since 10 October 2022, when it stood at 44. More strikingly, an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that the average AQI for October 2026 settled at 167, the lowest monthly October average since 2015 — over a decade of data.

This is a sharp contrast to recent Octobers, when Delhi's air routinely deteriorated into the 'poor' or 'very poor' category as stubble burning in neighbouring states ramped up and north-westerly winds brought pollutants southward. The unusual rainfall appears to have suppressed both local dust and incoming particulate matter.

What Comes Next

With November — historically the onset of Delhi's worst pollution season — now beginning, the critical question is whether the cleaner October baseline translates into a softer start to the winter pollution crisis, or whether conditions will normalise rapidly once the rain recedes and dry, cold air resumes. The IMD has not yet issued a forecast indicating when temperatures will return to seasonal norms.