Himachal capital sees season's hottest day so far

Shimla, May 2: Himachal Pradesh capital Shimla saw the season's hottest day so far with the maximum temperature at 29.8 degrees Celsius, a Met official said, blaming the unusually high temperature to the prevailing dry weather.

The high was seven notches above the average, while the minimum was recorded at 18.8 degrees.

Una town was the hottest place in the state, recording a maximum of 43 degrees Celsius, an official of the local meteorological office said.

Sundernagar in Mandi district recorded a maximum of 39.4 degrees Celsius, Dharamsala in Kangra district saw 31.6 degrees and Kalpa in Kinnaur district marked a high of 24.4 degrees.

The official said lack of showers in the past few days was mainly responsible for the high temperatures.

The Met office has forecast rain and thundershowers in the state from Tuesday.

"Rain and thundershowers are likely to occur over mid and low hills of the state during the next three days," a statement by the Met office said.

Most of the prominent tourist destinations like Shimla, Dharamsala, Palampur, Manali, Kasauli, Kufri, Narkanda and Dalhousie are likely to witness intermittent rainfall till May 5, which will bring down temperatures to comfortable levels.

IANS