Nature shows quite grotesque behaviour
When the residents in the capital are feeling the pinch of summer heat, people in the country’s northern region, mainly Tentuli, Rangpur and Dinajpur, are still experiencing the bite of cold as the nature is showing its freaky behaviour.
According to Bangladesh Metrological Department (BMD), the mercury dipped in the northern region over a week back after a sudden spell of sporadic rains, bringing back the winter.
However, BMD statistics show, the country’s people felt less cold this winter that began in early December and ended officially with the end of February, as the temperature was higher than it was in previous years during the season.
Besides, the country unusually experienced severe cold wave for once as the mercury fell to five degrees Celsius only for one day on 14 January.
Contacted, Abdur Rahman, a BMD meteorologist, said though the winter was over with the beginning of March, people in some northern districts have been experiencing cold at night since 13 March after countrywide sporadic rains lately.
He said the nighttime temperature of 11.5 degrees Celsius was recorded at Tentulia on 13 March while 11 degree Celsius at Dimla, 13.5 degree Celsius in Rangpur, 12 degree Celsius in Dinajpur and 12.5 degree at Syedpur. In Dhaka, 17.4 degree Celsius temperature was recorded at that night.
Rahman said the temperature started increasing gradually in the region as Friday night’s temperature was 14.8 degree Celsius at Tentulia while 14 degree Celsius at Dimla, 15 degree Celsius in Rangpur and 14.7 degree Celsius at Rajarhat. In the capital, 21.8 degree Celsius temperature was recorded on Friday night.
Talking to this correspondent during his visit to Rangpur on March 15, a tea seller near Mithapukur UNO’s office said, “We’ve been unusually experiencing cooler weather at night and in the morning since last week’s rains. A mood of winter is prevailing here now.”
BMD meteorologist M Rasheduzzman said people in the northern region experienced relatively cooler winter this season than people in other regions amid the growing trend of increasing temperature during winter.
“The country’s overall temperature has risen by around 1.2 degrees Celsius over the last 30 years. We’ve been experiencing comparatively warmer winter for the last six years with the gradual fall in cold intensity,” he said.
Another BMD meteorologist Omar Farroque said 13 and 14 January was the coolest days of this winter. “The lowest temperature of this season 5 degrees Celsius was recorded on 14 January in Kurigram’s Rajarhat. This was also the coolest day of this winter in Dhaka with 11.8 degrees Celsius temperature.”
BMD meteorologist Abul Kalam Mallik said average temperature during winter has been showing an increase tendency since the 80s in the country with sometime erratic beginning and ending of the season.
About the reason behind the warmer winter, he said the specific reasons cannot be said without any scientific research. “The rise in global temperature caused by climate change, environment pollution, lack of adequate greeneries, abuse of natural resources, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, excessive emission of Carbon dioxide, and the growing use of motorised vehicles, ACs, electricity and electronic devices can be the major reasons for it as per my observation.”
Climate expert Atiq Rahman said, “We don’t find equilibrium in temperature, humidity and rainfall. We call it erratic behaviour of climate which is casting adverse impacts on agriculture, ecosystem and biodiversity.”
Atiq said people in Dhaka and other cities have been experiencing hotter temperature than other areas for a huge number of buildings and concrete roads and pavements which retain the heats for six to eight hours after the sunset.
Prof AMM Amanat Ullah Khan of DU’s geography and environment science department, however, said without analysing the weather pattern of 30-40 years it cannot be definitely said global warming or climate change is contributing to winter warmer or changing its pattern.