Even as thousands continued to suffer from biting chill, the Met office on Monday warned that two more cold waves are on the offing. The first one is likely to hit the country in a couple of days. It will be moderate to severe with dense fog, the Met office said. As a result, the mercury may plunge further in the north, particularly in the sub-Himalayan region. The warning of a harsh winter coincided with our Kurigram correspondent reporting the death of four elderly people and two children due to the cold condition in Kurigram, Roumari, Rajivpur and Bhurungamari upazilas in the past five days.
Thousands of people living on the foothills of snow-capped Himalayas are suffering from cold-related diseases in the absence of adequate protection, sources said. It is alleged that relief materials, such as blankets and warm clothes, have not reached people in remote parts of the northern districts like Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Panchagar, Dinajpur and Thakurgaon, where the sun has remained blanketed by a haze since winter set in.
In its forecast for the next 24 hours beginning on 6 pm Monday, the Met office said the mild cold wave raging across Pabna, Rajshahi, Srimangal and Sitakundu will continue. The weather may remain dry with partly cloudy sky in the country till 6 pm on Tuesday, it added. Moderate to thick fog may occur during night till morning and a mild cold wave may continue sweeping Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions. Night and day temperatures may remain nearly unchanged all over the country.
The sun will set in Dhaka at 5.22 pm on Tuesday and rise at 6.42 am on Wednesday.
The country’s highest temperature of 28 degree Celsius on Tuesday was recorded at Cox’s Bazar and the lowest 9.2 degrees at Ishwardi, a Met office report said.
-With The Independent input
