Chandigarh: Amid sunny skies, mercury touches 40.2°C again

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the mercury is likely to increase further in the coming days and may even shoot up to 44°C by next week as effects of the recent rain and hail spells in the tricity wear off

The relief brought by Wednesday night rain did not last long as the maximum temperature rose from 39.3°C on Thursday to 40.2°C on Friday with the return of sunny skies.

A mother and daughter duo shield themselves from hot weather at Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh on Friday. (Keshav Singh/HT)

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the mercury is likely to increase further in the coming days and may even shoot up to 44°C by next week as effects of the recent rain and hail spells in the tricity wear off.

At 40.2°C, the maximum temperature on Friday was 1.4 degrees above normal.

During the weekend, partly cloudy weather is expected on Saturday, but there will be no rain.

IMD officials said with no rain and clear skies, the temperature will rise further, but it’s unlikely to go as high as it did towards the end of May, when heat records for the city were broken.

Meanwhile, the minimum temperature also rose sharply from 22.2°C on Thursday to 26.9°C on Friday, 0.5 degree above normal.

Over the next three days, IMD expects the maximum temperature to climb further to anywhere between 41°C and 43°C. Even the minimum temperature will soar to around 29°C.