Heatwave continues in lower hills of Himachal, temperatures likely to rise

Shimla, Jun 11(PTI) Heatwave conditions persisted in the lower hills of Himachal on Wednesday despite a slight decrease in maximum temperatures.

Una recorded the highest temperature in the state at 43.5 degrees Celsius, down from 44.2 degrees on Tuesday.

Neri reached a high of 41.1 degrees Celsius, while the mercury remained below 40 degrees in the rest of the state.

The Meteorological Centre has forecasted a rise in temperatures by two to three degrees over the next three days, followed by a gradual decrease thereafter.

Minimum temperatures also increased slightly, with Dehra Gopipur being the warmest at night, recording a low of 29 degrees Celsius. This was followed by Neri at 28.9 degrees Celsius, Paonta Sahib at 28 degrees Celsius, and Dhaulakuan at 26.8 degrees Celsius.

The weather office further noted that minimum temperatures are likely to rise by about 2 to 3 degrees in certain areas of the state over the next three days.

The relative humidity is likely to remain between 50 to 70 per cent in the catchment areas of rivers and lakes and between 30 to 65 per cent in the remaining parts of the state for the next two to three days.

An orange warning for severe heatwave was issued for some areas of the Una and Kullu districts on June 12. A yellow warning for heatwave has been issued for isolated places in Bilaspur, Hamirpur, and Mandi districts on June 12 and 13.

Thunderstorms, accompanied by lightning and gusty winds reaching speeds of 40-50 km/h, are anticipated in isolated areas across Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Kinnaur, and Lahaul and Spiti districts on June 13 and 14, as well as in Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur, and Solan on June 14, the MeT centre said.

The forecast further predicted that the weather would remain mainly dry in the region, except for light rainfall at some places on June 14 and light to moderate rainfall at some places from June 15 to 17. PTI BPL MPL MPL