Shimla, May 15 (IANS): The heat wave continued in the hills of Himachal Pradesh on Monday with temperatures being recorded three to seven degrees above average. In some areas, it crossed 42 degrees Celsius, the Met department said.

"At some places, the minimum and maximum temperatures were three to five notches above average," an official of the Meteorological Office here told IANS.

Una town was the hottest in the state at 43 degrees Celsius.

Shimla's maximum temperature was 4.4 notches above the season's average. The town located at a height of 7,000 feet above sea level saw a high of 27.8 degrees Celsius and the minimum of 18.8 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Sundernagar in Mandi district recorded a high of 38.6 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature at Bhuntar in Kullu district was 35.3 degrees Celsius, at Dharamsala in Kangra district 33.2 degrees Celsius, and at Kalpa in Kinnaur district 23.8 degrees Celsius.

The Met Department said there could be light to moderate rain or thundershowers in popular tourist resorts like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Kasauli, Manali, Palampur, Chamba and Dalhousie till May 17.