Sreemangal shivers at 5.6°C

Biting cold gripped Sreemangal as the lowest temperature in the country this season was recorded at 5.6 degrees Celsius in the upazila of Moulvibazar on Friday.

The lowest temperature in Sreemangal was recorded at 2.8 degrees Celsius on February 4 in 1968, Mujibur Rahman, an officer at the Sreemangal weather monitoring station, said.

Temperature between 8 to 10 degrees Celsius is considered a mild cold wave, 6 to 8 degrees Celsius a moderate cold wave, and less than 6 degrees Celsius a severe cold wave.

Severe cold with frosty winds and dense fog are disrupting daily life in Sreemangal. The low-income people who get by working every day are being hit hardest.

Many were seen making fires along the roadsides to keep warm. Most people are staying home unless there is an emergency.

Also, the number of diarrhoea and pneumonia patients — mostly children and elderly — is increasing in the hospitals of Moulvibazar, Civil Surgeon Dr Chowdhury Jalal Uddin Murshed said.

A mild to moderate cold wave is sweeping over Rangpur division and Faridpur, Madaripur, Gopalganj, Rajshahi, Pabna, Naogaon, Sirajganj, Moulvibazar, Rangamati, Cumilla, Feni, Jashore, Chuadanga, Kushtia, Barishal and Bhola districts and it may continue, the Met office said on Friday evening.

Besides, moderate to thick fog may occur at places over the river basins, while light to moderate fog may occur at places elsewhere over the country from midnight to Saturday morning.

The weather may remain dry with a temporary partly cloudy sky over the country, it said.