Rajshahi records lowest temperature at 6.7°C

Dense fog engulfs traffic on Babubazar Bridge in Dhaka yesterday as a cold wave grips the country, reducing visibility and disrupting daily life. Photo: Palash Khan

The ongoing cold wave has continued to grip the country, with temperatures plunging further yesterday, severely disrupting agricultural activities, daily life, and livelihoods.

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, the cold spell is affecting Dhaka, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Khulna, and Barishal divisions and may persist in the coming days.

The current situation may continue for another week until mid-January, said Omar Faruk, a meteorologist.

In response, the Bangladesh Agro-Meteorological Information Service issued urgent advisories to minimise damage to crops and farm assets during excessive cold and fog.

Farmers have been urged to provide light but regular irrigation to fruit trees, cover young plants with straw or polythene to block cold winds, take extra care of boro rice seedbeds during the cold spell, cover nurseries and seedbeds with transparent polythene from 3:00pm to 10:00am, protect livestock and poultry sheds with burlap or black cloth while keeping high-voltage bulbs lit to maintain warmth, and monitor pulses, mustard, and potato fields closely and treat them with recommended medicines as necessary to prevent disease outbreaks.

Meanwhile, suffering intensified as the temperature dropped further in the northern region yesterday.

The Met office recorded the country's lowest temperature of the season in Rajshahi for the second consecutive day at 6.7 degrees Celsius in the Badalgachhi area.

The bone-chilling cold has largely paralysed daily life and livelihoods of low-income and marginalised people, especially those in shoal areas, affecting children, the elderly, and women the most.

Sukhchan Khatun, 45, a day labourer from Char Hatia area under Kurigram's Ulipur upazila, said, "We neither have warm clothes, nor the money to buy them from the market. There is no work, no income for the past week amid the cold. We are barely surviving."

Kurigram district relief and rehabilitation officer Abdul Matin said a total of 25,000 blankets allocated to the district is currently being distributed.

"However, the total demand in the district is around 150,000 blankets. A letter has been sent to the ministry seeking more allocation," he added.