Dhaka witnesses season’s coldest day

Staff Reporter :
The national capital woke up to a freezing morning on Saturday, as thick layers of clouds and fog kept the sun’s rays cut off during the daytime.
In the morning, the temperature in the capital Dhaka was recorded at 11.5 degrees Celsius. This winter season, this has been Dhaka’s coldest morning so far, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
 “Dhaka touched a new low temperature of 11.5 degrees Celsius, making Saturday the coldest day this winter season,” said Omar Faruk, a meteorologist at the BMD.
He said that the temperature in most parts of the country decreased over the past few days as a mild cold wave continued to sweep over large swathes of Bangladesh.
“Such a situation may continue for the next two-three days in the country,” he predicted, saying that the situation will improve from 11-12 January.
According to a BMD bulletin, moderate to thick fog may occur over the country from Saturday midnight to Sunday morning and it may continue till noon.
It said a mild cold wave is sweeping over Rajshahi division and the districts of Faridpur, Madaripur, Kishoregonj, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Panchagarh, Jashore, Chuadanga, Kushtia, Satkhira and Barishal and it may abate from some places.
Night and day temperature may rise slightly over the country.
As the difference of temperatures between day and night is limited, moderate to severe cold likely to be felt across the country, the bulletin said.
The lowest temperatures were between 10 and 12 degrees Celsius in Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal, Rajshahi, Mymensingh and Rangpur divisions.
Country’s maximum temperature on Friday was recorded 26.7 degrees Celsius at Teknaf of Chattogram division, while the minimum temperature on Saturday was 8.4 degrees Celsius at Chuadanga of Khulna division.
At 9 am on Saturday, the district recorded a mercury reading of 8.4 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the whole country, said Raqibul Hasan, officer in charge of the Chuadanga Met Office.
He added, “Dense fog descended this morning, as it has for the past couple of days. The cold is chilling. This may persist for a few more days.”
Meanwhile, the sweeping cold wave coupled with cooler winds and fog deteriorated weather during the last 24 hours ending at 6 am Saturday in the northern region where normal life continued remaining disrupted in recent days.
The poor people with insufficient warm clothes are suffering for the shivering cold. The biting cold also shattered the lives of the people especially the old and the children.
In Kurigram, the northern cold air has shattered the lives and livelihoods with the decrease of temperature.
The temperature was recorded 10.5 degree Celsius on Saturday morning and it may fall in the upcoming days, the local met office sources said.
The farmers in the district Sadar are apprehending the damage of the seedbeds if the thick fogs continue.
“We have T-Aman seedbeds in the fields. We fear if the weather does not improve, it may damage our saplings,” Dulu Mia, a farmer of Jatrapur Union of Sadar Upazila said.
On the other hand, the helpless and underprivileged people of Jatrapur Union are suffering for want of warm clothes.
“It is a Char land area surrounded by rivers. People here suffer the worst during winter. There are about five to six thousand poor and destitute people who suffer a lot for want of warm clothes. We have distributed about seven hundred blankets so far,” Union Parishad Chairman Abdul Gafur said.