Amid heavy monsoon rain, what made August 2026 the warmest in 125 years?

August is supposed to be one of India's wettest months, when clouds and rain keep temperatures from climbing too far. But the August of 2026 was different.India Meteorological Department (IMD) data shows that August 2026 was the warmest August since records began in 1901, with the country's average mean temperature reaching 28.01°C, about 0.67°C above the 1991-2020 normal.That puts August 2026 ahead of every other August in the 125-year temperature record.But the reason is not simply that daytime temperatures soared everywhere. The real reason why August was warm lies in what happened to India's nighttime temperatures. A satellite image shows the weather systems over the Indian subcontinent. (Photo: IMD) WARM NIGHTS PREVAILEDThe biggest reason August stood out was what happened after sunset. India's average minimum temperature during the month was 24.36°C, or 0.68°C above normal.According to the IMD, that was the highest average night-time temperature recorded for any August since 1901. Daytime temperatures were also high, but the average maximum of 31.66°C ranked only fourth-highest. These are numbers that offer an alarming picture and illustrate how India is moving away from what was once considered normal.A month can become exceptionally warm even without record-breaking afternoons if temperatures fail to fall sufficiently at night.That is exactly what happened this August. An image of vehicles moving on a warm night in New Delhi. (Photo: Unsplash) The nights stayed unusually warm across much of India, pushing up the monthly average.The warmth was particularly pronounced in East and Northeast India, where the average minimum temperature was also the highest on record.South Peninsular India recorded its second-highest mean temperature for August, while Northwest India had its fifth-highest mean temperature.HOW DID MONSOON MADE AUGUST WARM?One important clue behind why the month was abnormally warm lies in the rainfall pattern.IMD found that below-normal rainfall occurred across many parts of the country, while above-normal temperatures were observed over most regions. Tourists take a look at a view amid rain. (Photo: AP) At the same time, the intense rainfall that did occur was concentrated mainly over eastern, east-central and northwestern India, often in bursts linked to low-pressure systems, depressions and interactions with western disturbances.In other words, rain did not fall evenly enough across the country to keep temperatures suppressed throughout the month.Several areas experienced spells of heavy rain, but large parts also had prolonged periods of relatively dry or less-rainy weather.Then there is an ongoing El Nino event that was strengthening over the Pacific, with IMD monitoring significantly above-normal sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific. A patch of a warm Pacific Ocean is captured by a satellite image. (Photo: Windy) The IMD had predicted that El Nino is expected to persist through the monsoon and could influence India's rainfall and temperature patterns. That much has been true so far.For now, August 2026 adds another worrying entry to another record the nation could have done without.- EndsPublished On: Sep 1, 2026 11:26 IST