Monsoon arrives in Himachal

Shimla : Late by over a week the monsoon covered most of Himachal Pradesh Thursday , the weatherman said here .

Many parts of the hill state were hit by sharp showers in the forenoon signaling the arrival of the wet season , although the sun was out in the afternoon .

Shimla recorded a high of 25 celsius , Solan 29 C , Kalpa in tribal Kinnaur was 23.6 C , Dharamsala the seat of the Dalai Lama had a high of 33.4 C .

Una bordering Punjab was the hottest place in the state at 36.8 C and is still awaiting rains .

The monsoon has also covered many parts of Uttarakhand , Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh .

The normal line of the monsoon passes through Jamnagar , Ahmadabad , Kota , Dehdradun , Shimla and Jammu .

Conditions are favourable for the further advancement of the monsoon into the remaining parts of the country including Punjab and Haryana, the weatherman said .

It has been a dry summer from June 1 to July 5 as the rainfall has been deficient by 58 per cent .