Banda in Uttar Pradesh was the hottest place in the country on Sunday, recording a maximum of 44.8 degrees Celsius, while many other cities too registered 40-plus temperatures as the heat wave onslaught continued in several parts of the country.
The minimum temperature in national capital Delhi settled at 23.9 degrees Celsius, making it the hottest morning of the season. The maximum temperature was recorded at 38 degrees Celsius.
However relief seemed to be in the offing for Delhiites as the weatherman has predicted a dip in temperatures after April 4.
Chandrapur in Maharashtra recorded a maximum of 43.8 degrees Celsius and was the second hottest place in India while Bankura in West Bengal was the third hottest with 43.4 degrees Celsius, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.
In Rajasthan, blistering heat continued to affect normal life in parts of the state as the mercury soared to 42.4 degrees Celsius in Barmer followed by 42.3 degrees in Jaisalmer.
Churu and Bikaner recorded maximum of 41.5 and 41.4 degrees respectively while Kota, Jodhpur, Sriganganagar and Pilani recorded day temperature of 40.9, 40.8, 40.7 and 40.3 degrees respectively, according to the Met department.
Maximum temperature in Jaipur and Ajmer was 39.8 degrees.
In Uttar Pradesh, apart from Banda, high temperatures were experienced in cities like Gorakhpur, Faizabad, Varanasi, Allahabad, Lucknow, Moradabad, Jhansi, Agra, Meerut, Kanpur and Bareilly.
The lowest minimum temperature in the state was 18.3 degrees Celsius recorded in Rae Bareli.
Narnaul in Haryana continued to remain the hottest place in the State recording a maximum temperature of 41 degrees Celsius today, seven notches against normal, according to MeT Department officials.
Hisar also experienced a hot day at 39.1 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal.
In Punjab, Patiala registered a maximum temperature of 37.6 degrees Celsius, seven notches more than normal limits while Ludhiana recorded five degrees above normal high at 36.6 degrees Celsius.
Chandigarh, the common capital of Punjab and Haryana recorded a high of 35.5 degrees Celsius, three notches more than normal.
Mahabubnagar district in Telangana today recorded the highest maximum temperature of 41.7 degrees Celsius in the state. Adilabad recorded 41.5 degree Celsius followed by Nizamabad 40.8, Medak 40.7, Nalgonda 40.2, while Hyderabad, Khammam, Bhadrachalam and Ramagundam recorded 40 degree Celsius, the IMD said.
Kolkata witnessed a fall in day temperature today and was pleasant at 33.4 degrees Celsius, which is two notches below average, the weatherman said.
Most parts of Odisha on Sunday experienced slight respite from the searing heat as the mercury dropped marginally though the temperature stood above 40 degrees Celsius in around a dozen places.