Rain brings down mercury in Punjab, Haryana

The meteorological department has forecast that rain will continue in spells till Tuesday and dry weather can be expected from Wednesday

A fresh western disturbance brought light rain across Punjab and Haryana early on Monday, leading to a dip in the temperature.

The Golden Temple in Amritsar set against an overcast sky that provides the perfect backdrop on Monday. (Sameer Sehgal/HT)

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Chandigarh, the rain will continue in spells till Tuesday and dry weather can be expected from Wednesday.

Gusty winds of over 40km an hour along with rainfall up to 20mm are forecast, the IMD said, adding that there are chances of hail at isolated parts in the region.

In Chandigarh, 1.8mm of rainfall was recorded since Sunday night till 8.30am on Monday.

The maximum temperature, which was above average for most places in the two states for the past few days, fell after the rain in the region.

The minimum temperature went up from 16.6 degrees on Sunday to 17.6 degrees Celsius on Monday due to the cloudy weather, but the maximum temperature fell to 25 degrees Celsius on Monday from 30.6 degrees Celsius in Chandigarh on Sunday.