Darwin residents were sent reaching for the blankets this morning as the mercury dipped below 16 degrees for the first time in 2017. The Northern Territory's capital city registered a minimum temperature of 15.4 degrees shortly before 6:30am today. This was the city's lowest temperature since last August and is five below average for this time of year. While this was a cold morning by tropical standards, many people in southern Australia today won't have much sympathy their northern neighbours. Adelaide, Hobart and Melbourne are all forecast to reach tops of just 14 degrees today. Despite the cold start in Darwin, the city remains on track to have its warmest August on record in terms of maximum temperatures. As of 9am today, Darwin's average maximum temperature so far this month was 33.1 degrees. This is an impressive two degrees above the long-term average and currently trumps the previous August maximum record of 32.9 degrees, set back in 1988. With temperatures forecast to reach 33-34 degrees in Darwin during the last four days of the month, this is likely to remain the city's hottest August on record based on maximum temperatures.