Mercury rises across Himachal Pradesh, weather remains dry

The temperature rose by 2°C to 4°C across Himachal Pradesh, settling close to normal for this time of the year, on a mostly dry day on Monday, the MeT office said.

The highest maximum temperature was recorded in Una at 36°C while Kukumseri registered the lowest minimum temperature at 2.3°C. Paonta Sahib recorded a minimum temperature of 22°C, followed by Dehra Gopipur at 19°C and Dhaulakuan at 16.8°C.

The MeT office has issued an ‘orange’ warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and wind reaching speeds of 40-50 km per hour at isolated places in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Shimla districts on Friday due to a fresh western disturbance. It has also issued a ‘yellow’ alert for thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and wind reaching speeds of 40-50 km per hour in Chamba, Kangra and Kullu districts on Wednesday and Thursday.

The MeT office has predicted a dry spell with light precipitation at isolated places on Wednesday and Thursday, light to moderate precipitation at many places and heavy rainfall at isolated places on Friday and Saturday, and light to moderate precipitation at a few places on Sunday. A ‘yellow’ warning for thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty wind has been issued for isolated places in Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Solan, Sirmaur, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts on Friday.