In Punjab and Haryana, people were forced to restrict themselves indoors due to the sweltering heat. Ludhiana, Patiala, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Moga and other towns of Punjab reeled under the severe heat wave.
Heat wave swept Punjab and Haryana with Amritsar and Hisar recording 47 degree C and 46 degree C respectively.
Most places in the region recorded the season's hottest day so far. In Amritsar the mercury settled seven notches above normal, the MeT said here.
Gurgaon recorded 45 deg C. Hisar in Haryana also came under the influence of severe heat wave, at a maximum of 46.4 deg C, up four notches. These two cities and other places in the region registered their hottest day so far, with hot winds forcing people indoors.
Chandigarh had its hottest day so far at 43.2 deg C, up four notches than normal. Ludhiana and Patiala had 45.7 deg C and 45.1 deg C, up by six and five notches, respectively.
Jalandhar, Moga, Pathankot, Ferozepur and Gurdaspur had maximums settled in the range of 43-46 deg C.
Among other places in Haryana, Narnaul recorded 46 deg C, up five notches while severe heat swept Rohtak at 45.8 deg C, up six degrees. Ambala's maximum settled at 44 deg C, up four notches, Bhiwani had a high of 43.8 deg C, Karnal at 44.5 deg C, up by five degrees.
Unscheduled power cuts continued in Chandigarh and at some places in the two States making it difficult for the people to face the heat. Some schools in the region were still open today exposing children to the hot weather.
The rising temperature also broke the previous century records of 1944 and 1988 touching all-time high of 43.1 degree C in Dehradun, as MeT department issued a warning of severe heat wave in the coming days.
Also in Dehradun, day temperature rose to 43.1 degree C, which is an all-time record, said Anand Sharma, Director of MeT department here. The previous records of temperatures were set in 1944 and 1988, when the mercury had risen to 42.8 degree C, he added.
The mercury had earlier touched 41.7 degree C on May 26 making it the hottest day in the last 8 years.
The people in other towns like Haridwar and Udhamsingh Nagar districts also sweltered in scorching heat.
Mercury soared in desert state of Rajasthan with Sriganganagar recording 47.4 degree celsius followed by Churu at 47.2 degrees.
Bikaner, Kota, Jaisalmer and Barmer recorded maximum of 46.3, 45.7, 45.4 and 45 degrees respectively while the state capital also recorded 44.2 degrees, highest in the season, according to MeT department.