Dhaka sees 3 hours of heavy rain, how long will the downpour continue?
The sky over the capital was overcast with clouds from early morning today, Thursday. Around 8:45 am, it started raining and continued for at least half an hour.
Today is the last working day of the week, and the rain started just when city dwellers were on their way to office and other destinations, causing widespread suffering. At the time of writing this report around 10:15 am, the rain had eased but the sky still remained heavily clouded.
AKM Nazmul Hoque, meteorologist at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department told Prothom Alo today that 34 millimetres of rainfall were recorded in Dhaka between 6:00 am and 9:00 am. That’s quite a lot of rain for a three-hour period, he said.
If the amount of rainfall ranges from 44 to 88 millimetres, it is categorised as heavy rainfall.
The rain caused difficulties for Dhaka residents, especially students and office-goers. Tafsirul Islam, a resident of Mohammadpur, said, “Even though I saw the clouds, I didn’t bring an umbrella. I was completely drenched. While I was waiting for a bus in front of Town Hall Market, it started pouring heavily.”
Tafsirul was heading to Motijheel, where he had to spend the day. He said his clothes were already soaked before he even reached there.
This is the time of year when the monsoon winds starts to withdraw. Despite that, it has been raining in various parts of the country including Dhaka.
Explaining the reason, meteorologist Nazmul Hoque said, “The rainfall happening now is mainly due to the interaction between easterly and westerly winds. The monsoon winds will retreat in a few days. However, as new air masses arrive clouds are forming and causing rain.”
Today, rain has been reported not only in the capital but also in surrounding districts, as well as in parts of coastal Barishal, Khulna, and Chattogram. Intermittent rain may continue in Dhaka throughout the day, but more heavy rainfall is unlikely, Nazmul Hoque said. He added that the rainfall is expected to decrease from tomorrow.