Mercury shoots on rainless day in Haryana, Punjab

With weather remaining generally dry in the plains of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh during the past two days, the maximum temperatures today rose past the 40 degrees Celsius mark at many places in the region.
Hisar in Haryana was the hottest place in the two states recording a maximum of 41 deg C, two notches above normal, the local MeT Department said.
Bhiwani, too, braved a hot day at 40.2 deg C, up one notch while Ambala's maximum settled at 36.9 deg C.
The capital of both the states, Chandigarh experienced a sultry day, with mercury settling at 36 deg C.

In Punjab, hot and humid conditions prevailed in Amritsar, which recorded a high of 40 deg C, up two notches.
Ludhiana and Patiala recorded near similar highs of 37.7 deg C and 37.6 C, respectively.
The MeT in its forecast has said that weather will be partly cloudy at a few places in the region over the next two days.
With the onset of southwest monsoon in the region a few days back, the maximum temperatures had witnessed a sharp fall across Punjab, Haryana and their common capital Chandigarh, but mercury has been steadily rising in the absence of any rainfall activity during the past two days.