After a long dry spell,  Chapainawabganj, known as the mango capital of the country, finally experienced rains on Sunday night, bringing much-needed relief to mango growers in the region. Several rounds of rain lashed different parts of the district from around midnight on Sunday, easing concerns among farmers who had been grappling with intense drought. Farmers said mango is the main cash crop of Chapainawabganj, and favourable weather at the beginning of the season had raised high hopes among growers. Trees had flowered abundantly but when the mangoes began to grow the dry spell and lack of rainfall caused stems to dry out, leading to premature fruit drop, they said. Farmers had been irrigating their orchards and spraying water manually in an effort to save their crops. Sunday’s rainfall has brought some relief, they said. Abdur Rakib, a mango farmer from Baliadanga in Sadar upazila, said the weather was favourable early in the season, which resulted in a good number of blossoms and subsequently, healthy young mangoes. “But later, the weather turned adverse. Due to drought and lack of rain, pests attacked the trees, and the stems dried up, causing many mangoes to drop prematurely,” he said. “This rain will help reduce pest infestation and strengthen the stems. Hopefully, fruit drop will now stop.” Kamrul Islam, another grower from Jamtala, said he had been irrigating his orchard to prevent the mangoes from falling. “We didn’t get much rain in our area, little rain feels like a blessing. It will help strengthen the stems and speed up fruit growth,” he added. Dr Yasir Ali, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Chapainawabganj, said the district recorded around 2 millimetres of rainfall on average Sunday night. “It would have been better if the rainfall was heavier, but even this amount will benefit mango and litchi cultivation,” he said. According to the agriculture department, mangoes have been cultivated on 37,504 hectares of land in Chapainawabganj this season

A mild heat wave is sweeping Rajshahi, Pabna, Sirajganj, Khulna, Bagerhat, Patuakhali and  Rangamati and it may continue, according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department.  Besides, rain or thunder showers with lightning flashes and temporary gusty wind is likely at one or two places over Khulna & Syhet divisions in 24 hours commencing 9am on Saturday, it said. Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country. Rains likely in M’singh , Sylhet; mild heat wave persists in Dhaka, other places Day temperature may rise slightly and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country. Trough of low lies over West Bengal and adjoining area. Seasonal low lies over the South Bay. Country’s highest temperature was recorded in Khulna’s Mongla at 36.8 degree Celsius on Saturday.      

Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecast rain or thunder showers in all divisions of the country including Dhaka in 24 hours commencing 9:00am on Saturday. “Rain or thunder showers or lightning flashes accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at one or two places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions,” said a Met office regular bulletin. Light rain brings some relief amid heat waveDay temperature may remain nearly unchanged and night temperature may fall slightly over the country. A trough of low lies over West Bengal and adjoining area. Seasonal low lies over the South Bay.    

Light to moderate rain has been predicted in parts of three divisions of the county by Sunday evening. Country's other areas are expected to experience predominantly dry weather with partly cloudy skies, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD). The BMD says that the low-pressure system over the west-central Bay of Bengal and surrounding areas weakened into a well-marked low-pressure area on Saturday night as it moved east-northeast. In light of this development, maritime ports have been advised to lower their warning signals. Dry weather, fog, mild cold wave continue across Bangladesh: BMD Temperature Update The lowest temperature in the country was recorded in Tetulia, Panchagarh, at 10.3°C on Saturday. The BMD forecasts that daytime temperatures across the country might increase slightly today (Sunday), while nighttime temperatures may decrease marginally. On Monday, both daytime and nighttime temperatures are expected to rise slightly, while Tuesday may see a slight drop in daytime temperatures.   Rainfall Forecast By Sunday evening, light to moderate rain is likely in some areas of Khulna, Barishal, and Chattogram divisions. In contrast, other parts of the country are expected to experience mostly dry weather with partly cloudy skies. The BMD also says that no rainfall is likely  in the subsequent 24 hours. But rain may resume in different regions from Monday evening onwards.   Fog Advisory The weather office has further indicated that light to moderate fog may occur in some areas during the late-night to early-morning hours over the next few days.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department has predicted rains in parts of Bangladesh including in Dhaka division from Friday amid the winter, that may further intensify the cold weather. “Moderate to heavy rainfall is likely at places over Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal and Chattogram divisions during next 72 hours commencing 6 am of 20 December,” said a Met office bulletin on Tuesday. Dry weather, fog, mild cold wave continue across Bangladesh: BMD The low pressure area lies over central parts of South Bay of Bengal and adjoining area, its associated trough extends up to North Bay, it said. Ridge of sub-continental high extends upto West Bengal and adjoining area. Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country in 24 hours from 9am on Tuesday. Night temperature may rise slightly and day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country. Temperature may fall further in next 5 days: BMD Light to moderate fog may occur at places over the country during midnight till morning. Country’s lowest temperature was recorded at Tentulia at 09.01 degrees Celsius today.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecast rain or thunder showers at one or two places over Chattogram division for the next 24 hours commencing 6am on Monday. “Rain or thunder showers are likely to occur at one or two places over Chattogram division and weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country,” said a Met office bulletin. Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged and night temperature may rise slightly over the country. Light to moderate rain likely in 24hrs: BMD A low pressure area has formed over the Eastcentral Bay and adjoining North Andaman Sea. It is likely to intensify. The country’s highest temperature was recorded in Feni at 34.5 degree Celsius on Sunday while the lowest temperature 19.0 degree Celsius was recorded in Panchagarh’s Tetulia till 6am on Monday.    

Though the city life was crippled with incessant torrential rainfall for the past two days, the situation has largely improved on the first working day of the week. No news of downpour was reported in any part of Dhaka on Sunday morning, bringing some relief to students and commuters. People, especially office-goers, workers and students were seen rushing to their destinations in the morning blessed with sunshine.    Incessant rains throw life out of gear in Dhaka Talking to UNB, private service holder Al Amin Sikdar, who was waiting for vehicles at Mouchak intersection to go to Gulshan in the morning, said Dhaka experienced heavy rainfall for the past two days causing immense suffering of people. “But today morning I feel better as there is no rain right now,” he said. But he was bothered by waterlogging in some streets and alleys in the low-lying areas of the city caused by a minimal rainfall, disrupting daily life. He urged the authorities concerned to take visible and effective measures to address the long-standing problem. AKM Nazmul Hoque, meteorologist of Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told UNB over mobile phone that there is no forecast of rainfall in the day hour, but there may be rain at night (Sunday). Dhaka’s air quality unhealthy for sensitive groups this morning The city life was out of gear as the incessant rains triggered waterlogging and traffic gridlocks in different parts of the capital on Friday and Saturday respectively. The rains, triggered by active monsoon, started at around 1 pm on Friday and continued through Saturday afternoon, inundating lanes in different areas, including at Green Road, Dhanmondi, Malibagh, Mouchak, New Market and Mirpur.

Heavy and torrential rains since Friday morning have inundated the main roads and lanes in Chandpur town, causing suffering to commuters and disrupting normal life. Locals the waterlogging was created due to faulty drainage, making it almost impossible to move. Roads are devoid of vehicles, and people are largely staying indoors unless absolutely necessary. Incessant rains throw life out of gear in Dhaka Vikas Ghosh, a vendor selling fermented milk drink near Court Station are, expressed his frustration, saying, "I have been here since 6 am with my drinks, but by 9 am, I haven't sold anything. There are no people around."

Intermittent rains since Thursday (May 02, 2024) morning brought respite to Chattogram city dwellers from the scorching heat that has been prevailing across the country for the last several days. Rain and thunderstorm started around 9:30 am in different parts of the Port City. As rain provided relief, many expressed gratitude by posting on their social media profiles. 4 family members among 5 killed in Habiganj road accident Md Abdul Barek, a meteorologist at Patenga Weather Office, said they have recorded one mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours till 9 am on Thursday and city dwellers will likely experience more rains today. Besides, the river ports have been asked to hoist local cautionary signal no 1 and more rains with thunderstorms will likely occur in the district. According to Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at a few places over Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Dhaka, Mymensingh and Barishal divisions with hails at isolated places. Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country. Dhaka’s air ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ this morning Meanwhile, a very severe heatwave is sweeping over the districts of Jashore, Khulna, Chuadanga, Pabna and Rajshahi and severe heatwave is sweeping over the districts of Tangail, Faridpur, Gopalganj and rest of the Khulna division. A mild to moderate heatwave is sweeping elsewhere over the country and it may abate from some places over the eastern part of the country.

After rain, Dhaka’s air quality has improved. The capital city ranked 33rd on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality with an AQI score of 86 at 9:10 am this morning (March 31, 2024). Dhaka’s air was classified as 'moderate' today, according to the air quality index. India’s Delhi, Thailand’s Chiang Mai and Pakistan’s Karachi occupied the first, second and third spots on the list, with AQI scores of 201, 179 and 171 respectively. When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 50 and 100, air quality is considered ‘moderate’, between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 150 and 200 is ‘unhealthy’, between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', while a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents. Read more: Eight ways to overcome waste pollution crisis The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is and what associated health effects might be a concern for them. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone. Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon. As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections. Read more: What is ‘Zero Waste’ and why is it important?