76mm of rain in six hours in the capital

Heavy rain has been battering the capital since Sunday morning, the first working day of the week, with the sky remaining overcast. The downpour has caused waterlogging in various parts of the city, creating major difficulties for school and college students as well as office commuters.

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), Dhaka received 76 millimetres of rainfall over the past six hours, the highest recorded in the capital so far this month.

The city received 97mm of rain over the past 24 hours. The BMD office has forecast heavy rainfall throughout the day in Dhaka and several other parts of the country.

Meteorologist Md Tariful Newaz Kabir told Prothom Alo at around 7:45 am today that 76mm of rainfall was recorded in the capital between midnight and 6:00 am. He said this was the highest amount of rainfall recorded during that time period in Dhaka so far this month.

He added that the capital received 97mm of rainfall between 6:00 am Saturday and 6:00 am Sunday.

The country has experienced widespread rainfall for nearly a week due to a low-pressure over the bay, an active monsoon and variations in atmospheric pressure.

Flooding has already affected seven districts, with the heaviest rainfall recorded in the Chattogram and Sylhet divisions. However, rainfall in those two divisions eased somewhat on Saturday.

Tariful Newaz Kabir said Rajshahi, Rangpur, Chattogram and Dhaka divisions are likely to see comparatively heavier rainfall today. He added that rainfall may decrease slightly from tomorrow, Monday.

Even light rain has caused waterlogging in different parts of the city over the past few days, but the situation worsened further this morning. Water was seen accumulating even at the entrances to many small alleyways. Roads were inundated in several areas, including Bijoy Sarani, the Aarong intersection on Manik Mia Avenue, Karwan Bazar, Dhanmondi and Kazipara in Mirpur.