New Delhi is 2.5°C (4.5°F) warmer by day, Chennai has 7.8°C (14°F) warmer nights, Chennai gets 590 mm (23.2 in) more rain a year.
Chennai is at its warmest in May and coolest in January, while New Delhi peaks in June and bottoms out in January. Month for month, Chennai is the warmer of the two in 8 of 12 months.
Chennai is the wetter of the two, collecting 1,244 mm (49 in) of rain a year against 654 mm (25.7 in) in New Delhi. The most comfortable time to visit is January, November and December in Chennai and February, March and November in New Delhi.
| Chennai | Metric | New Delhi |
|---|---|---|
| 🌡️ Temperature | ||
| 34.9°C | 🌡️Average daytime high | 37.4°C |
| 22.6°C | 🌙Average nighttime low | 14.8°C |
| May | 🔥Hottest month | June |
| January | ❄️Coldest month | January |
| 🌧️ Rain | ||
| 1,244 mm | 🌧️Annual rainfall | 654 mm |
| November | ☔Wettest month | August |
| March | 🏜️Driest month | November |
| 💨 Climate | ||
| 72% | 💧Average humidity | 43% |
| 3.2 m/s | 💨Average wind speed | 2 m/s |
Overnight, Chennai typically falls to around 22.6°C (72.7°F) while New Delhi settles near 14.8°C (58.6°F).
Chennai is hottest in May and coldest in January, whereas New Delhi peaks in June and is coolest in January.
Chennai sees the most rain in November and the least in March; New Delhi is wettest in August and driest in November.
Chennai feels the more humid of the two, averaging 72% relative humidity against 43%.
For New Delhi, the pick of the year is February, March and November.
Month by month, here is the coldest night, the average day and the hottest afternoon each city can expect. Switch Compare to read rainfall, humidity, wind or solar instead, and Period to move between the long-term 45-year average and any single year — the shading is a quick warm-to-cool guide.
| Month | Chennai | New Delhi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Avg | Max | Min | Avg | Max | |
| January | 18.9 | 24.3 | 29.8 | 2.7 | 14.8❄️ | 26.9 |
| February | 19.5 | 26.4 | 33.4 | 4.8 | 18.2 | 31.6 |
| March | 21.2 | 29.3 | 37.3 | 9.4 | 23.9 | 38.5 |
| April | 24.2 | 31.8 | 39.5 | 15.3 | 29.4 | 43.5 |
| May | 26 | 33.3🔥 | 40.5 | 22.1 | 34.2 | 46.3 |
| June | 25.1 | 31.8 | 38.4 | 25.8 | 36.1🔥 | 46.3 |
| July | 24.5 | 30.8 | 37 | 25.8 | 34.3 | 42.9 |
| August | 24.3 | 30.2 | 36.2 | 24.2 | 31.2 | 38.3 |
| September | 23.8 | 29.2 | 34.7 | 20.3 | 28.9 | 37.4 |
| October | 23 | 28 | 33.1 | 14.7 | 25.5 | 36.4 |
| November | 20.8 | 25.5 | 30.3 | 8.8 | 20.6 | 32.4 |
| December | 19.6 | 24.2❄️ | 28.8 | 4.2 | 16.1 | 28 |
| Annual Avg | 22.6 | 28.7 | 34.9 | 14.8 | 26.1 | 37.4 |
Min / mean / max temperature (°C). 🔥 marks each city's hottest month, ❄️ its coldest; shading runs cool blue to warm red.
The same figures plotted out, so the shape of a typical year is easier to see than in a grid. Where the two lines run close together Chennai and New Delhi feel alike; where they separate, they are genuinely different places to be.
Hover or tap any point to read the exact figures. Chennai New Delhi
See how Chennai and New Delhi stack up against other cities. Swipe for more.
Choose which city to keep, then search for any other city in our database — we'll build the comparison for you.
Quick answers to the questions people ask most when comparing Chennai and New Delhi — each drawn straight from the climate figures above.
New Delhi is the warmer of the two. It averages daytime highs of 37.4°C (99.3°F) against 34.9°C (94.8°F) in Chennai — roughly 2.5°C (4.5°F) warmer by day. Nights are milder in Chennai, with average lows of 22.6°C (72.7°F) versus 14.8°C (58.6°F).
Chennai is hottest in May, averaging highs of about 40.5°C (105°F), while New Delhi peaks in June at around 46.3°C (115.4°F). That makes New Delhi the hotter of the two at the height of summer.
New Delhi gets colder. In its coldest month (January) overnight lows average about 2.7°C (36.9°F), compared with 18.9°C (66°F) at the low point of the year in Chennai.
Chennai is the wetter city, collecting about 1,244 mm (49 in) of rain a year versus 654 mm (25.7 in) in New Delhi. Chennai is wettest in November and driest in March; New Delhi is wettest in August and driest in November.
Chennai is the more humid of the two, averaging 72% relative humidity over the year against 43% in New Delhi.
The most comfortable months in Chennai are January, November and December, when average temperatures are at their mildest.
New Delhi is at its most pleasant around February, March and November, based on the mildest average temperatures of the year.
Chennai is the warmer city in 8 of the 12 months of the year. The gap is widest in January, about 9.5°C (17.1°F), and narrowest in September, about 0.3°C (0.5°F).
New Delhi has the bigger seasonal swing, about 21.3°C (38.3°F) between its coldest and hottest months versus 9.1°C (16.4°F) in Chennai — so Chennai has the steadier, more even climate.
On climate alone, New Delhi comes out ahead — it offers warmer days, less rain and lower humidity than Chennai. Chennai is the better fit only if you'd actually prefer cooler weather, more rainfall and a more humid climate.
Every figure on this page is calculated from NASA POWER satellite climate data spanning 1981–2025 (45 years). The averages describe the long-term climate of Chennai and New Delhi, not a single year's weather or a short-range forecast.
