Cold wave sweeps over 13 districts

The sun shines on the sky but rickshaw-puller Abdul Jabbar wearing heavy warm clothes was seen sitting on his rickshaw in Kumarpara area of Rajshahi city on Friday.

Abdul Jabbar said the sun has risen but chilly wind lessens the heat of sunlight. If there was no sunlight weather would get colder.

A mild cold wave swept over 13 districts across the country on Friday with Rajshahi district recording the lowest of 9.08 degree Celsius.

According to the Bangladesh Metrological Department (BMD), a mild cold wave has been passing over Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogura, Naogaon, Kushtia and eight districts of Rangpur divisions.

A temperature between 8 and 10 degree Celsius is considered a mild cold wave, 6 and 8 degrees Celsius a moderate cold wave and less than 6 degree Celsius, a severe cold wave.

Severe cold engulfed the capital and elsewhere in the country. Temperature also dropped due to dense fog. People’s daily lives came to a standstill in many palaces.

A smaller number of people came out of home. Dense fog also disrupted traffic in many places while medical centres and hospitals saw a rise in patients.

The sun has not risen in the capital since Tuesday. Dense fog is likely to continue on Saturday.

BMD meteorologist Bazlur Rashid said the sun might be seen in the sky in Dhaka for a while.

He told Prothom Alo on Friday evening that the temperature dropped by 12 degree Celsius in Dhaka in three days, intensifying the cold weather. Dense fog is also another reason for the fall of temperature.

According to the BMD, temperature was recorded a maximum of 28.3 degree Celsius on 30 December, but it fell sharply to 16 degree Celsius on 31 December, but rose slightly to 17.3 degree Celsius on Friday

The BMD recorded weather situations in 51 stations across the country. All but two stations reported temperatures at 15 degree Celsius or less than that. Cox’s Bazar and Kutubdia stations recorded 17 and 16.2 degree Celsius respectively.

Meteorologist Bazlur Rashid said temperature may rise on Saturday while dense fog is likely to continue for three more days.