By IANS
Shimla : It has been a shocker of a holiday for the thousands of tourists who escaped from the plains to the hills of Himachal Pradesh with temperatures in towns like Kullu hitting a torrid 38.4 degrees Celsius and the capital Shimla just a little better at 31.5 degrees Celsius.
Though a haze enveloped this popular town Monday morning, people were still recovering from the searing Sunday when the mercury hit 31.5 degrees Celsius, the highest in 12 years.
"On Sunday, Shimla recorded 31.5 beating the 31.4 recorded on June 10, 1995. The minimum also rose to 22.5 degrees Celsius," said Manmohan Singh, head of the metrological office here.
And that was not all.
With the entire hill state in the grip of a heat wave as hot winds from the plains blow into Himachal, Dharamsala recorded 36.1 degrees Celsius, Kullu 38.4, Narkanda 28.7 and Kalpa in tribal Kinnaur saw the mercury rise to 27.3 degrees Celsius Sunday.
Thousands of tourists holidaying in the hill state in the hope of some respite have got a rude shock.
On Saturday as well, Shimla recorded 31.3 degrees Celsius.
The hill station is also reeling under a severe water crisis. Civic authorities are rationing water on alternate days while hoteliers are shipping water in tankers from long distances to meet their needs.