Chandigarh, July 29 - Chandigarh and nearby areas in Punjab and Haryana received heavy rains Wednesday and the dip in the day temperature brought relief to the city's residents.

'At present, the monsoon is in rigorous position in the region and most parts of Punjab and Haryana experienced heavy rain today (Wednesday). Due to this good rainfall, there was dip in temperature ranging from three to nine degrees Celsius in the region,' Chatar Singh Malik, director of Meteorological Centre, told IANS.

The day temperature in Chandigarh was recorded at 26.4 degrees Celsius, seven degrees lower than the normal. The city received 117.6 mm of rain Wednesday.

In Haryana, the temperatures in Ambala and Karnal towns was recorded at 27.8 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius respectively, a good six notches below the average.

Temperature in Amritsar in Punjab was 32.4 degrees Celsius whereas in Patiala it was 28.8 degrees Celsius, five degrees below normal.