The weather is not what it used to be. The climate has changed and now, many experiences are nothing more than a distant memory. The childhood memory of having a proper winter might be one of them, especially in Dhaka. While the rest of the country are still shivering in cold, Dhaka has already dropped its jacket and donned lighter clothing. It feels warm already.
Season? More like a phase
Remember those teenage years when one thinks they are goth and their parents tell them that it’s just a phase only to get the reply — “Mom, it’s not a phase!” Well, the winter season has been sort of like that lately. They last barely two weeks (okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit). Winter used to be a proper season; there used to be this whole 'vibe’ that it’s winter. Now, it’s a little more than a few days of chilly wind, smog, and the occasional haze. Whatever happened to winter in Dhaka?
“Just the other night, I had to throw my blanket aside in the middle of the night because it was too warm, I even conquered my fear of ghosts and left myself uncovered half the night,” joked Azizul Haque, a young banker, adding that it felt comparatively colder this year, but the duration was very brief.
It’s not the same for all of Dhaka though. The more densely populated areas are already warm but areas that still have open space, such as Aftabnagar, still have that cold breeze that makes you tighten your scarf around your neck.
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Brace for impact
Dhaka might not experience winter for long but it sure loves to prepare for it. The big clothing brands will have a big sale. And no matter whichever one of the hundreds of stores you go to in Dhaka, you will find a crowd, which makes you wonder — do all these people know about an upcoming cold wave that you do not?
Such preparations somehow enrage the 'summer lovers.' They get into verbal altercations with the ‘winter enthusiasts’ who insist that cold can be battled with warm clothes while summer has no ‘solution.’
The north remembers
You might not get a proper winter in Dhaka but one thing you get for certain is that one friend from the northern region of the country. The region that usually experience the coldest and harshest bit of the winter season. These ‘northerners’ (myself included) will always tell you how much colder their hometown is.
“You call this cold? Oh please. Dhaka does not know what cold is. This is picnic weather,” said one Meraz Ahmed, a young professional from Pabna who lives in Dhaka now.
They will tell you all the stories of their childhood and how much cold they have endured. It makes you wonder if the northern part of Bangladesh is colder than Canada or Alaska because you never hear them boast about the winter. “If you want to experience cold, come to my hometown. Your hands and feet will go numb, you won’t be able to feel your nose but I will treat you with fresh date juice in the morning and duck curry for dinner. Then you will know what winter feels like,” Meraz added with an unmistakable pride in his tone, perhaps adamant to prove that anyone who goes to the north will remember.
The winters are getting shorter and shorter in Dhaka. It is an indicator for bigger issues, one that needs to be addressed before it’s too late. It is also a wakeup call for everyone to address the climate issues. Climate change is real and Dhaka is one of the unfortunate living proofs.
