Heatwave takes heavy toll on people's lives

People will have to grapple with blistering temperatures for a few more days as the ongoing heatwave in parts of the country is likely to continue.

Meanwhile, record-breaking temperatures have hit the commoners hard, especially the working class people.

One Kamal Hossain, a rickshaw-puller in the capital's New Eskaton area, was found lying on his rickshaw, instead of making trips, to get a bit of respite from the heat, on Monday.

"Pulling a rickshaw in this hot spell makes the throat dry. It feels like the body burns badly in the heat of the sun," he told The Business Standard.

Another rickshaw-puller, Jashim Mia said, "Pulling a rickshaw while fasting in such hot weather is very difficult… It becomes almost impossible to pull a rickshaw at noon due to the extreme heat of the sun".

As the heatwave continues taking its toll on city dwellers, especially children and elderly people have become most vulnerable. They find it very difficult to sleep well at night.

One Abdul Kadir, a resident of Agargaon, said that he could not sleep well at night due to the blistering heat, even after taking shower twice a day to beat the heat.

As per the Met Office forecast, the prevailing heat wave condition over the country is likely to continue until tomorrow.

Mostofa Kamal Palash, a Bangladeshi expatriate meteorologist and PhD researcher on meteorology and climate at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, said, "Persisting high temperatures in the country will continue until 21 April and thereafter, there is the possibility of rain from 23 April to 3 May".

All weather forecast models have predicted maximum day temperatures in Dhaka city between 39 and 41 degrees Celsius every day until 21 April. Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Kushtia, Chuadanga and Jashore would see the temperature at 41- 43 degrees Celsius every day on 18-20 April, added Palash.

Any district in the country is unlikely to witness the temperature at over 40 degrees Celsius after 23 April, he informed.

Referring to weather model predictions, he further said that there is a possibility of rain in the country from 23 April.

He went on saying, "A western disturbance is currently remaining on the border of Pakistan and Iran. It will start entering India by the end of this week and cross over India's Bihar, West Bengal and Bangladesh around 21 April. As a result, clouds will start forming over the districts of Sylhet and Mymensingh divisions. From 23 April onwards, there is a chance of rain and thunderstorms in Bangladesh".

"Weather forecast models indicate the possibility of 10 days of rain in the hilly areas bordering Bangladesh and India's Meghalaya state from 23 April to May 3. As a result, there is a strong possibility of landslides in haor areas of Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions," Palash wrote on his Facebook.

However, meteorologist Md Abdur Rahman said that generally, temperatures remain high in the country throughout April. But, this year, it has become a little higher than usual. The last heatwave continued for the highest five days but this time it has been persisting for more than 11 days".

"There is no possibility of rain in Dhaka for now. Chuadanga may witness rain after 24 April. There will be chances of thunderstorms or nor 'wester if it rains," he added.

On 15 April, Dhaka witnessed a temperature at record 40.4 degrees Celsius, the highest since 1965. The next day, the mercury soared to even higher, at record 40.5 degrees Celsius, in the capital.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) data shows that Chuadanga registered this season's highest temperature at 42.2 degrees Celsius on 15 April.