The hills of Himachal Pradesh sizzled Friday with the maximum temperature in the state capital touching 29 degrees Celsius, the weatherman said.
"Shimla Friday recorded the hottest day of the season with mercury touching 29 degrees Celsius," director of the meteorological office Manmohan Singh told IANS.
"The minimum was 19.5 degrees Celsius," he added.
He attributed the unusual high temperature to north-westerly dry winds.
According to Manmohan Singh, the minimum temperature rose sharply by 10 degrees Celsius in Shimla in the past 24 hours.
Mercury also showed a rising trend in the high-altitude areas.
The minimum temperature of Kinnaur's Kalpa town was 5.6 degrees Celsius, while it was 3.3 degrees Celsius at Keylong town in Lahaul-Spiti district.