Sunlight brings some relief from cold

Sunlight brought a little respite yesterday for the cold-hit people across the country, especially in the northern region, after several consecutive days of bone-chilling cold.

The mercury rose slightly, with the country’s lowest temperature recorded at 7 degrees Celsius in Moulvibazar’s Sreemangal upazila.

On Wednesday, the lowest temperature was 6.7 degrees Celsius in Naogaon, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

“The sunlight was visible and temperature rose as there was less fog yesterday compared to previous days,” said a duty officer of the BMD.

On Tuesday, a mild to moderate cold wave was sweeping over 32 districts in the Rangpur, Rajshahi, Barishal, Khulna and Sylhet divisions. The number of affected districts dropped to 17 yesterday, he added.

“Night temperature may remain nearly unchanged and day temperature may rise slightly over the country,” said a BMD bulletin released last evening for the next 24 hours.

As the sun appeared, the intensity of the cold eased during the daytime, but the chill intensified again after sunset as cooler winds continued to sweep across the region, said Jitendranath Ray, acting officer of the Tetulia Weather Observatory.

In the Rangpur region, farmers and agricultural labourers were able to work in the fields during the daytime. “We are feeling relief today after getting sunlight from around 10:00am to the afternoon,” said Shafiru Rahman, a farmer of Mominpur village in Rangpur sadar upazila.

Day labourer Pulin Chandra Roy of Mostafi village in Lalmonirhat said, “Thursday noon passed quite comfortably as the sun appeared in the sky. Sunlight warmed our bodies.”

Attendance of students at various educational institutions also increased as the weather improved.

Anwar Shahadat, principal of Abdur Rashid Degree College in Thakurgaon sadar, said student attendance was better than in the previous few days due to the improved weather.

[Our correspondents from Moulvibazar, Lalmonirhat and Thakurgaon contributed to the report.]