Shimla:
The Queen of the Hills and Una in Himachal Pradesh experienced the hottest day of the season so far on Thursday with the mercury touching 32.4 and 44.8 degree Celsius respectively at both places.
On Wednesday, the daytime temperatures at both places were recorded at 30.9 and 42.2 degrees, the Met office said.
The scorching sun in mid and lower hills in the state with mercury staying five to eight degrees above normal forced residents and tourists to stay indoors during the day.
Shimla had a partially overcast sky with mild breeze but it failed to provide any relief to the people.
The high rose marginally in Mandi, Solan, Dharamsala, Sundernagar and Nahan to settle at 42.2 degrees, 36.5 degrees, 38.2 degrees, 41.3 degrees and 36.2 degrees respectively.
The Met office has predicted rains or thunderstorms in parts of the state on Friday and on May 29.