Himachal sees mercury two to five degrees above average

The heat wave continued to sweep the hilly Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday with temperatures being recorded two to five degrees above average despite rain in some towns, including Shimla. In some areas, the mercury hovered around 40 degrees Celsius.

"Some towns saw a marginal fall in the temperatures due to rain. More rain is likely in the next three days," an official of the meteorological office here told IANS.

Una town was the hottest place in the state recording the high of 40 degrees Celsius.

The weather official said Shimla's maximum temperature was four notches above the season's average. The town, located at 7,000 feet above sea level, saw the maximum temperature of 28 degrees Celsius, a fall from Tuesday's 29.3 degrees.

Sundernagar in Mandi district recorded a high of 37.2 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature in Bhuntar in Kullu district was 34 degrees Celsius, Dharamsala in Kangra was at 33.2 degrees Celsius and Kalpa in Kinnaur district was at 20.8 degrees Celsius.