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Mild cold wave grips the country

Mercury may drop further in next 3 days

Staff Correspondent
A mild cold wave is sweeping through the country, especially the north-western regions, since yesterday, forcing people to limit their outdoor activities in many districts.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department yesterday recorded the lowest temperature in Chuadanga at 7.9 degrees Celsius, while Dhaka experienced 13.0 degrees Celsius.
A mild cold wave is when the temperature ranges from 10 degrees Celsius to eight degrees Celsius. It is a moderate cold when the temperate is
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between eight to six degrees and a severe one when the temperature is between six to four.
In its regular weather update, the Met office said a mild cold wave is sweeping across Rajshahi (9.4 degrees Celsius), Pabna (8.8 degrees), Naogaon (9.5 degrees), Kurigram (9.8 degrees), Nilphamari (10 degrees), Jashore (9.2 degrees) and Chuadanga (7.9 degrees). The wave may spread further, it said.
Meanwhile, Highway Police Headquarter in a press statement yesterday advised drivers of vehicles on highways to drive carefully using fog lights and limited speed.
“The temperature may fall further over the next three days. It will start rising again from December 23," said Omar Faruq, a meteorologist at the Dhaka Met office.
The temperature dropped from one to four degrees Celsius yesterday, compared to the previous day.
Faruq said the cold wave may return in January.
In its forecast for the next 24 hours (till 9am Friday), the Met Office said the weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly-cloudy skies over the country.
Moderate to thick fog may occur in
places from midnight till morning, it said.
The temperature may fall slightly at night and remain nearly unchanged during the day.
"I can't go to work and have been staying home forthe last two days," said Askar Ali of Chuadanga town.
The severity of the cold is higher than previous years as the cold wave from the Himalayan side is sweeping through the northern region, according to the Tetulia Met office.
During a visit to different makeshift markets in Thakurgaon and Panchagarh on Wednesday and Thursday, our correspondent saw people crowding the shops to buy sweaters, jackets, cardigans, woollen caps and mufflers to keep warm.
Taking advantage of the cold, traders have increased prices of warm clothes, people alleged.
Meanwhile in Thakurgaon, an elderly woman and a man received burn injuries while warming themselves by burning straws. They were admitted to a Thakuigaon hospital.
The victims are Fajiran Begum,72, wife of Tasir Uddin of Shibganj village and Sabbir Ahmed,42, son of Nur Aziz of Laskara village in Thakurgaon sadar upazila.
Hospitals are seeing a sudden rise in the number of patients, especially children and the elderly, who are affected with cold-related diseases, hospital sources said.
Children and elderly people are crowding the Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital and upazila hospitals with complaints of cold-related diseases, like pneumonia and diarrhoea, said Kashem Ali, Civil Surgeon in Lalmonirhat.
Fog along with the cold wave disrupted normal life at five upazilas in Lalmonirhat, a northern district closest to the Himalayas, forcing people to stay indoors.
Lalmonirhat DC Abu Jafar said 28,700 blankets were distributed among the distressed people.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) last night temporarily suspended ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia route due to dense fog on the Padma river, reports our Manikganj correspondent
The decision was made around 10:45pm to avert accidents as fenys' "marking lights" were hardly visible in the fog, said BIWTC's Paturia sector Assistant Manager Mohiuddin Russell.
Ferry services will resume once the fog is lifted, he said.