North, East India sizzle; immediate relief unlikely

The northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh sizzled as mercury kept on soaring and hot loo winds added to the woes of the people.

In Rajasthan, Churu recorded a maximum temperature of 48.7 degrees, the highest of the season, Sriganganagar 47 degrees and Bikaner 46.8 degrees.

Amritsar in Punjab saw the maximum temperatures touching 47.6 degrees while the industrial city Ludhiana at 46.3 degrees experienced its hottest day after the country's Independence.

In Haryana, scorching heat prevailed in Hisar and Rohtak, where mercury settled at 46.7 degrees.

Capital Delhi's maximum of 45.4 degrees was five degrees above normal while the minimum also rose four degrees above normal to touch 31.2 degree Celsius, up from the previous day's 28.2 degrees Celsius.

The lower hills of Himachal Pradesh also bore the brunt of heat wave as mercury stayed six to seven degrees above normal. Una experienced the hottest day of the summer with a maximum of 45.2 degrees. State capital Shimla also recorded a high of 32 degrees, seven notches above normal.

The MeT office has forecast no immediate relief from the ongoing hot weather conditions in the region.

In the east, heat wave conditions continued to sweep Jharkhand with Garhwa recording the state's highest of 46 degrees. While Palamau and Bokaro sizzled at 44.9 and 44 degrees, Giridih recorded a maximum of 44 degrees. One person died of sun stroke in Latehar district in the state yesterday.

Heat wave conditions also prevailed in Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and coastal parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.