Mercury crosses 40 degrees mark in most places in Punjab, Haryana

Bathinda neared the 45 degrees Celsius mark, the weather office said on Friday. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states recorded a high of 40.5 degrees Celsius, the Met department said.

Bathinda was the hottest place in Punjab with 44.5 degrees Celsius. Patiala recorded a high of 42.1 degrees Celsius. In Ludhiana, it was 41.4 degrees while Pathankot saw a high of 39.9 degrees Celsius.

Amritsar registered a maximum temperature of 40.3 degrees while Mohali recorded 39.2 degrees Celsius.

In Haryana, Hisar sizzled at 43.1 degrees Celsius while Rohtak was only marginally behind with 43 degrees Celsius.

Sirsa and Bhiwani registered identical highs of 42.8 degrees each, Narnaul 42.6 degrees, Gurugram 40 degrees, Ambala 41 degrees while Karnal recorded a high of 41 degrees Celsius.