A mild to moderate cold wave, the first one of the season, is sweeping over the country, disrupting normal life to people mostly in the northern districts.
The lowest temperature of the country was recorded at 7.0°C at Rajarhat in Kurigram and Tetulia in Panchagarh on Sunday, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
Dhaka’s minimum temperature was recorded 13.4° C, it said.
A mild to moderate cold wave is sweeping over Rangpur division and the regions of Gopalganj, Sitakunda, Feni, Sreemangal, Pabna, Badalgachhi, Jessore, Kumarkhali, Chuadanga, Barisal and Bhola and it may continue.
Night temperature may rise slightly and day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.
The country’s highest temperature was recorded in Teknaf with 28.6°C on Sunday.
Ridge of sub-continental high extends up to West Bengal and adjoining western part of Bangladesh. Seasonal low lies over South Bay.
The weather may continue to remain dry over the course of the cold spell across the country.
Moderate to thick fog may occur at places over the river basins of the country and light to moderate fog may occur elsewhere over the country during midnight to morning.
Winter and Covid-19
Experts have warned that the deadly virus may hit Bangladesh even harder in the winter.
When the country is seeing an increase of Covid-19 cases, it will be difficult to curb the spread of the virus during the winter. Elderly people and children are the most vulnerable to the deadly virus in cold weather.
Experts fear that people may become very susceptible to coronavirus like other respiratory viruses and flu-like diseases during the winter due to low humidity, less sunlight, mild vitamin D deficiency and impaired immunity.
“Many people in Bangladesh suffer from common cold problems caused by four other coronaviruses rather than Covid-19, but those are self-preventive viruses. So, if the Covid-19 and other coronavirus affect people together during the winter the situation may deteriorate sharply. Though this is only an assumption, we should remain alert,” Dr ASM Alamgir, principal scientific officer of the IEDCR told UNB.
Bangladesh’s Covid-19 fatalities rose to 7,242 until early Saturday with 25 more deaths in the past 24 hours.
The death rate stood at 1.45%, the Directorate General of Health Services said.
Also, 1,267 new Covid-19 cases were reported at that time, taking the country’s caseload to 499,560.
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