Mercury continues to soar high in Delhi and Rajasthan

New Delhi, Apr 28 (UNI) Delhi continued to reel under the intensified heat wave conditions today with the mercury rising four degrees above normal at 42.4 degrees Celsius while the temperature in Rajasthan was recorded at 43.6 degrees C.

In Himachal Pradesh, the maximum temperature in Shimla rose to 26.4 degrees C, the highest for the town during this summer, the met office said.

In Delhi, the minimum temperature rose to 23.4 degrees Celsius, from 22.1 degrees recorded yesterday here.

For the second consecutive day, scorching heat forced Delhiites to remain indoors in the comfort of their homes and offices.

A severe heat wave could be in the offing in the coming days with the weatherman forecasting a rise in day temperatures in the next 2 - 3 days.

The met office has forecast a mainly clear sky in Delhi during the next 24 hours with the possibility of some duststorms in evening or nights.

In Rajasthan, the maximum temperature in the state capital rose by a degree from yesterday, registering 43.6 degree Celsius, making it unbearble for the people.

Elsewhere in the state, the temperatures hovered above 40 degrees Celsius, indicating further rise in the days to come.

Ajmer recorded 41 degree Celsius, Dabok 42, Jodhpur 41 and Bikaner 42.

In Himachal radesh, the maximum temperature in the state capital rose by a few notches at 26.4 degrees as compared to 24.2 degrees C yesterday.

However, the minimum temperature in the town remained stationary at 16.2 degrees C.

Temperatures across the state remained three to five degrees above normal due to the continuing dry spell with Himachal Prades's Una town being the hottest place in the state with a day temperature of 39.6 degrees, according to the met office.

The maximum temperature at Kalpa in Kinnuar also rose by a few notches to 24.9 degrees as against yesterday's high of 23.7 degrees.

The maximum at Sundernagar, Bhuntar and Dharamshala soared to 34.4, 36.3, and 30.6 degrees Celsius respectively, the met office said.

Manipur experienced a bright sunny weather after incessant rains in the past few days.

The minimum temperature was about 16 degrees C and the maximum was 27 degrees C.

Rain or thundershowers have occurred at a few places in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand and at isolated places in Asom and Meghalaya, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, north interior Karnataka and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Heat wave conditions prevailed in parts of Kashmir and at isolated places in Punjab and Madhya Maharashtra.

Hot day conditions prevailed at isolated places in Haryana and Marathwada.

In Kerala, rain and thundershowers occurred at a few places while dry weather prevailed in Lakshwadeep.

Varkala recorded the highest rainfall of 5 cm followed by Mavelikkara with 4 cm, the Met office said.

Thiruvananthapuram Airport, Munnar and Nedumangad received 3 cm of rainfall, it said.

UNI