Barsha Kairy :
Possibly the winter’s last cold wave has started its final bites of the season.
Dwellers in Dhaka along with other parts of the country have been experiencing the lowest temperature of the year.
In Dhaka it was recorded 11.8 degrees Celsius yesterday, but it felt colder due to the wind.
Besides, a spell of moderate rainfall for last couple of days make the cold bitter. The dense fog has also been disrupting communications via roads and waterways. Sunday’s minimum temperature was recorded 9.5 degrees Celsius at Chuadanga in Khulna division and the maximum temperature was 25.7 degrees Celsius at Sitakunda and Teknaf.
People living in the northern districts, particularly Dinajpur, Rangpur and Kurigram, are taking the brunt of the chilly weather, many of them without the means to cope with the cold.
Especially, the farmers and day labourers are worst sufferer of the ongoing cold spell. Many poor people are trying to combat this chilling cold with the heat from burning straw and old rubber tyres.
In some districts, dozens of hospital admissions were reported. Most of the victims were elderly people and children suffering from cold- related complications.
The mild to moderate cold wave is likely to remain for next three to four days, said an official of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
On the other hand, moderate to thick fog may occur over the river basins and light to moderate fog may occur elsewhere over the country during midnight till morning.
Night temperature may rise slightly and day temperature may fall by 1-2°C over the country.
Yesterday’s fog was caused by huge humidity in the atmosphere left by rain.
Also, there is a chance of usual winter fog. This fog might linger for about three to four days ranging from dense to moderate.
According to the Met officials, the lowest temperature during this winter was 7.2 in Ishwardi, but the country as a whole did not witness any cold wave as such.
Met officials presumed that at least one moderate to severe cold wave may hit the country at the end of this week.
