The winter in Bangladesh, as in many other Asian countries, has become erratic.  When people in the country’s northern region seek an escape from cold, those who live in Dhaka are in pursuit of an enchanting winter.

On Monday, the lowest temperature was 14 degrees Celsius in Dhaka at night and 24 degrees Celsius at daytime and public life was almost normal in the capital. But people in many other parts of the country, mainly in the northern region, experienced the biting cold.

READ: Winter in Bangladesh not over yet, another cold wave coming

For example, Chuadanga, a northern district, experienced 7 degrees Celsius of temperature, the lowest of the country this year, the same day as a mild cold wave is sweeping different parts of Bangladesh. The chilly weather is disrupting normal life in the district making the poor people the worst sufferers.

The unusual cold weather is forcing people to stay indoors, causing sufferings to low-income people, including day-labourers and rickshaw-pullers. Many people were seen crowding stores of warm clothes and quilts to protect themselves from the biting cold.

Living in Dhaka will give you another experience.  The middle-class people of Dhaka are in cold-weather gear enjoying the much-sought winter with fancy winter dresses and planning winter trips.   

Nature’s freak behaviour 

M Abdul Mannan, a senior meteorologist at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), said Bangladesh has been experiencing abnormal behaviour of the weather pattern over the recent few years with a change in length and duration of sessions. “We can’t now predict when a season will exactly start or end due to freak weather.”

Usually, he said, winter begins early December and ends on February 28 in Bangladesh. “But we’ve been intermittently experiencing less cold during this month for some years. Besides, we’re also not feeling the intensity of cold at the expected level in the capital during the winter.”

Bangladesh’ noted environmental expert Dr Atiq Rahman said the winter is getting less biting in the country, but at the same time getting foggier.

“Crops are being affected adversely by the increased fog. The overall uncertainty in crop production in Bangladesh is on the rise,”” he said.

READ: Bangladesh ‘braces for Covid’s winter wave’; experts urge caution

The expert said people in Dhaka and other cities have been experiencing more temperature than other areas because of the huge number of buildings and concrete roads and pavements which retain the heat for around six hours after sunset.

 Dr Atiq, executive director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, “There’s no doubt that temperature has increased in Bangladesh. We don’t find equilibrium in temperature, humidity and rainfall. We call it erratic behaviour of climate.”

Correlation with climate change  

A recent World Bank (WB) report said Bangladesh has experienced a 0.5° Celsius increase in average temperature between 1976 and 2019 and is slowly losing the variations between seasons caused by climate change. 

It said summers are becoming hotter and longer while winters are warmer, and the monsoon seasons are being extended from February to October.

The report also predicted that average temperatures across Bangladesh will rise by 1.4° Celsius by 2050 while annual rainfall is likely to increase by 74 millimetres by 2040-2059.

According to a recent report of Global Climate Risk Index 2019, Bangladesh is the seventh most-affected country in the world due to “extreme weather events” over the last 20 years from 1998 -2017.

Mercury to go up

The cold wave that is sweeping parts of the country is likely to ease from Thursday, the Met office said on Tuesday.

 “The mild cold wave which is sweeping Panchagarh, Kurigram, Jahsore and Chuadanga districts may abate from Thursday,” Shahana Sultana, a meteorologist of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), told UNB.

The country’s lowest temperature was recorded in Tetulia of Panchagarh district at 8.8 Degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature (28.2C) was recorded in Teknaf.

Besides, the Met office recorded 9.6 Degrees Celsius temperature in Jashore, 9.5 Degrees Celsius in Chuadanga and 10.0 Degrees Celsius in Kurigram’s Rajarhat upazila.

As per the Met office forecast for the next 24 hours (till 9am Wednesday), weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy skies over the country. 

Light fog may occur at places over the country in the morning. Night and day temperatures may rise slightly over the country.

UNB Panchagarh correspondent says the mild cold wave is disrupting the normal life in the district.  The day-labourers and low-income people are the worst sufferers as they are seen lighting fires with straw and tree leaves to fight the cold and keep them warm.

The affluent section of people is buying warm clothes while the poor day-labourers and floating people are suffering a lot.

Children and elderly people are being affected with cold-related diseases, including diarrhoea.

Authorities in different hospitals, including Sadar Upazila Hospital, are struggling to provide beds as many patients were hospitalized with diarrhoea and other cold-related diseases.

Monwarul Islam, a child specialist of Panchagarh Modern Hospital, said “We’re struggling due to huge pressure of patients in indoor and outdoor departments of the hospital.”