Chandigarh, July 4 (IANS) Chandigarh and its nearby areas were lashed by pre-monsoon rains on Thursday morning, bringing much relief from the scorching heat wave, the weather office said.

It said the monsoon rains would be active across Punjab and Haryana on July 6-7.

The maximum temperatures at various places in Punjab and Haryana were one-six degree Celsius above the normal owing to delay in monsoon.

The maximum temperature in Chandigarh was hovering around 39 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, six degrees above normal.

--IANS vg/pgh/