Mercury up in Himachal again

The mercury rose again across the hills of Himachal Pradesh Sunday, registering temperatures two to seven degrees Celsius above normal. In some areas, the temperature crossed 43 degrees Celsius.

Shimla, at an altitude of 2,130 metres, was warm at 30.8 degrees Celsius, 6.5 notches above average. It had recorded a high of 28.5 degrees Celsius Saturday.

"The maximum temperature remained above average in the state due to lack of rain," an official of the meteorological office told IANS.

He said Una town on the Punjab border was the hottest at 43.5 degrees Celsius.

Dharamsala in Kangra district recorded a high of 35.2 degrees Celsius, four notches above average, while it was 39.8 degrees in Sundernagar in Mandi district, 26 degrees in Kalpa in Kinnaur district and 37.7 degrees in Nahan town.

The Met department predicted rain and thundershowers at some isolated places in the state Monday.