Chandigarh, March 22 (IANS) It is still only March but residents of Punjab and Haryana have already started to feel the heat with the mercury climbing five to six degrees above the average temperature.

'Both day and night temperatures in Chandigarh and in most parts of Punjab and Haryana are hovering five to six degrees above average. It is not an exceptional thing as we have been observing this trend in the month of March for the last five years,' an official of the Meteorological Department said here Monday.

Chandigarh registered a maximum of 34.9 degrees and a minimum of 19 degrees Celsius Monday, which was six degrees above average. It recorded 34.6 degrees Sunday.

'There would be no respite from the heat in the coming days. The sky could be overcast for some time but there are no signs of rain in this region,' the official said.

While Amritsar in Punjab recorded a high of 33.4 degrees Celsius Sunday, both Ludhiana and Patiala recorded 35.4 degrees.

In Haryana, Hisar registered a maximum of 40.9 degrees while Ambala experienced 34.4 degrees and Karnal 34 degrees celsius Sunday.