The heat wave continued to sweep the plains of north India on Tuesday with maximum temperatures hovering around 40°Celsius.

Hisar at 42.6°C was the hottest in the region.

Ambala in Haryana also had a hot day, recording a high of 41°C, while the temperature at Karnal touched 39.6°C, according to the Meteorological Department in Chandigarh.

At Patiala, the maximum settled at 41°C.

Ludhiana and Amritsar also registered hot days recording near similar highs at 40.6°C and 40.4° C, respectively.

Shimla had a pleasant day at 26.8°C, which was still three degrees above the normal range.

Bhuntar and Sundernagar recorded maximum temperatures of 33.2°C and 33.6°C, respectively.

Srinagar, however, had a cold day as the mercury there plummeted by five degrees below normal to record 21.2°C, the Meteorological Department said.