Chandigarh's August weather delivered a sharp split between days and nights, with the city recording its highest average maximum temperature in six years alongside its lowest average minimum in 16 years, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The average maximum temperature for the month reached 34.5°C, the second-highest since 2011 and the highest since 2020, per the IMD. That was 1.4°C warmer than August 2025 and above the 34.3°C average in 2024. The hottest single day touched 36.6°C on August 14.
Nights, however, ran cooler. The average minimum temperature fell to 25.2°C, the lowest August reading in at least 16 years, the IMD data shows. That edged below last year's 25.4°C and was notably lower than the 27°C recorded in 2020. The coldest night, 23.2°C, was logged on August 19.
Rainfall stayed drier than usual. Chandigarh received 249.2 mm of rain in August, a 13% deficit against the normal 284.8 mm, according to the IMD. That marked a sharp reversal from 2025, when the city saw 308.5 mm — 8% above normal. It was the steepest August deficit since 2022, when rainfall fell 41% short at 166.9 mm. In between, 2023 saw a marginal shortfall (-5%) and 2024 a surplus (+23%).
Despite the shortfall, the IMD classified the month's rainfall as "normal" — a category that covers departures between +19% and -19% from the long-period average. The wettest day was August 19, which brought 73 mm of rain and coincided with the month's coolest night.
The IMD data shows no single-year rainfall record was broken in August 2026. Several recent years had steeper deficits, including 2014 (41.2 mm, -86%), 2016 (150.5 mm) and 2021–22 (160–167 mm). The wettest August on record for the past 16 years remains 2020, at 373.2 mm.
The contrasting patterns — warmer afternoons, cooler nights, and a rain deficit that stayed within the "normal" band — made August 2026 an unusual month for the city, the IMD report indicates.