With rains eluding the region for the last couple of days, maximum temperatures on Tuesday shot up by a few notches and touched the 40°C mark at most places in Punjab and Haryana.
At 40.4°C, Hisar was the hottest, a meteorological department official said. Bhiwani also experienced a hot day at 39.6°C, the temperature here was two degrees higher. In Rohtak, the temperature was 38.9°C, three degrees above normal.
Narnaul and Ambala recorded temperatures of 39.2°C and 36.9°C, respectively. In Punjab, Amritsar was the hottest at 39.7°C, while the mercury in Jalandhar settled at 38°C.
Ludhiana, Patiala and Chandigarh, recorded temperatures of 36.4°C, 36.8°C and 35.8°C, respectively. The meteorological department has forecast light to moderate rain or thunder showers at isolated places in both the states over the next two days.