Light rain in Himachal; Una hottest at 41.5 deg C

Light rainfall was witnessed in parts of Himachal Pradesh during the last 24 hours even as Una continued to be the hottest place in the state, the Meteorological Department said on Sunday.

Jhandutta received 21 mm rain during the last 24 hours, followed by Aghar with 12 mm, Dalhousie 9 mm and 8 mm each in Dharamshala and Palampur, it said.

Kalpa recorded 7 mm rain, Kufri 6 mm, Bilaspur and Baldwara 5 mm each, and Baijnath witnessed 4 mm rainfall, Met Centre Director Manmohan Singh said.

Una continued to be the hottest place in the state with a high of 41.5 degrees Celsius, whereas the lowest temperature was recorded at 10 degrees Celsius in tribal district Lahaul and Spiti's administrative centre Keylong.

The maximum temperature in Bilaspur was 38.7 degrees Celsius, followed by 38.6 degrees Celsius in Hamirpur, 38.5 degrees Celsius in Chamba, 38.4 degrees Celsius in Kangra and 36.1 degrees Celsius in Sundernagar.

Tourist destination Manali recorded a maximum temperature of 28.5 degrees Celsius, while state capital Shimla registered a high of 28.3 degrees Celsius. Dalhousie and Kufri recorded maximum temperatures of 24.6 and 20.1 degrees Celsius respectively, the weather office said.

The Met Department has already issued a fresh yellow weather warning for thunderstorm in Himachal Pradesh for July 3.

The Shimla Meteorological Centre has forecast thunderstorms accompanied with hailstorm and gusty winds in several parts of the middle hills of the state on July 3.

The weather office issues colour-coded warnings to alert people ahead of severe or hazardous weather with the potential to cause "damage, widespread disruption or danger to life".

Yellow, the least dangerous of all the weather warnings, indicates the possibility of severe weather over the next few days.