Himachal Pradesh: Mercury crosses 30 deg C in Shimla, Dharamsala; heat wave likely in 7 districts on Sunday

Shimla, May 18 (PTI) Residents of the lower hills in Himachal Pradesh reeled under scorching heat on Saturday, the local meteorological department said as it warned of heat wave in few pockets of seven districts on Sunday.

The maximum temperatures stayed 2 to 6.4 degrees Celsius above normal at several places and key tourist destinations of Shimla, Dharamsala, Manali and Narkanda recorded a high of 30 degree, 36.1 degree, 28.6 degree and 24.2 degree Celsius respectively.

Neri in Hamirpur district was the hottest in the state with the mercury soared to 44.1 degrees Celsius while Una sizzled at 43.6 degrees Celsius.

The MeT office predicted occurrence of heat wave at isolated places in Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Solan, Sirmaur, Kangra and Shimla districts of Himachal in next 24 hours.

The weather department has also issued a yellow alert of thunderstorm and lightning at few places on Sunday.

Rain along with thunderstorms and lightning is expected at isolated places in high hills of the state on Sunday, said Surender Paul, Director, Meteorological Department.

Keylong was the coldest in the state with a low of 5.7 degrees Celsius. Neri and Paonta Sahib recorded a low of 27.5 degrees Celsius and 27 degrees Celsius respectively.

The MeT office has also predicted rains or snow at isolated places in higher reaches from May 19-21.

The maximum and minimum temperatures in low hills are likely to remain normal or above normal and increase by 2-3 degrees Celsius over the next two days, the weather department said.

The minimum temperature in high hills is likely to decrease by 2-3 degrees over the next 2-3 days and stay below normal, it said.

The relative humidity is likely to remain in the range of 30 to 85 per cent over catchment areas of rivers and lakes and between 25 to 75 percent in the remaining areas of the state for the next 3-4 days, it added.

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