Temperatures rise under clear skies in north

The mercury inched up today as bright sunshine beat down on the plains of north India after a brief interlude of relatively mild weather conditions.
It was a comparatively hot day in Delhi as the maximum temperature settled at 38.3 degrees Celsius.
Although the maximum stayed one notch below normal, the bright sunshine made stepping outdoors a tough job.
The minimum was recorded at 24 degrees, or two notches below normal. Humidity in air oscillated between 22 and 70 per cent.
The maximum yesterday in Delhi was 36.9 degrees while the minimum had settled at 24.4 degrees.
In the two neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana, the maximum continued to hover a few notches below normal with their common capital and Union Territory of Chandigarh recording a high of 37.6 degrees.

In Punjab, Ludhiana and Amritsar registered maximums of 36.6 and 35.6 degrees, respectively, a dip of up to three degrees below normal.

The mercury settled at 37.2 degrees in Patiala, one degree below normal.
In Haryana, Ambala recorded a high of 37.6 degrees while Bhiwani and Karnal saw the mercury settle at an identical 37.8 degrees.
According to the weather office, duststorms or thunderstorms along with light rain is likely in the coming 48 hours at isolated places in Punjab and Haryana.
Day temperatures were up by a few notches in Rajasthan where Chittorgarh was the hottest place with a maximum of 41.3 degrees followed by Kota at 40.7 degrees.

State capital Jaipur recorded a maximum of 40.5 degrees while Churu and Ajmer recorded a high of 39 degrees.
Meanwhile, light rainfall occurred overnight at isolated places like Barmer and Ganganagar.