The sweeping cold wave coupled with cooler winds and fog deteriorated weather during the last 24 hours ending at 6 am today in the northern region where normal life continued remaining disrupted in recent days.The farm-laborers and day-laborers could not conduct normal works and fewer numbers of people were seen outside homes as thick layers of clouds and fog covered the sun in most areas.The elderly people, women and babies are the worst sufferers, especially in rural and riverine char areas, due to the sweeping bone-chilling cold in the sub-Himalayan northern region.
Meanwhile, the district and upazila administrations, NGOs, business bodies, financial institutions and charitable organisations have further intensified distribution of blankets, sweaters, mufflers and rappers among cold-hit people in the northern districts. Met Office sources said the situation deteriorated further as the gap between minimum and maximum temperatures reduced to the minimum causing immense sufferings to common people. The minimum temperatures marked little falls and ranged between 9.5 degrees and 10.5 degrees Celsius today in the region where the average maximum temperatures remained between 18.5 and 22 degrees Celsius during the past couple of days.
The minimum temperatures recorded at 6 am today were 10.5 degrees Celsius at Rangpur, 9.4 degrees at Dinajpur, 9.6 degrees at Saidpur, 9.5 degrees at Tentulia, 10 degrees at Dimla and 10.5 degrees Celsius at Rajarhat points in the region. Local people said the sun remained covered behind thick layers of clouds and fog affecting vehicular traffic and forcing the drivers to put headlights of their vehicles on to avert accidents.The situation marked little improvement with the appearance of the sun since noon, making life easier for a couple of hours like in the past couple of days.
Rangpur District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Md. Motahar Hossain said distribution of 75,000 pieces of blankets, allocated so far by the government, are being distributed to cold-stricken people of the district. “We are expecting to get more allocations of warm clothes from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief to further intensify distribution of the same among cold-hit poorer section people to mitigate their sufferings,” Hossain added.
Officials at different hospitals and upazila health complexes said the number of pneumonia, fever, diarrhoea, asthma and respiratory problem related patients marked rise today forcing the doctors to remain very busy. Similar reports of disruption of normal life were received here today from Kurigram, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Rangpur and Nilphamari districts in the region.
