Staff Reporter:
The met office yesterday expressed fear that the country’s highest temperature could break all time rec-ord next month after witnessing the longest duration of a heat wave covering all corners of Bangladesh.
“Our mathematical model analysis suggests despite some expected rainfall in parts of the country in the first week of the coming month, the country may witness the all time record temperature in May,” mete-orologist Kazi Zebunnesa said.
She said the northeastern Sylhet region, parts of central Bangladesh and southeastern Chattogram region was likely to witness some welcome shower but it would unlikely reduce the much expected heat wave throughout the country.
The country witnessed the longest duration of the heat wave for the past 25 days since April 1 and the met office warned the phenomenon would continue throughout the next month.
“But unlike the previous heat waves, this year it spread all over the country,” commented meteorologist Abul Kalam Mollik, who was supported by Zebunnesa as well.
Visibly for the first time the meteorologists acknowledged that the climate change phenomenon caused the erratic weather pattern with gradually expanding areas of heatwave, joining the voice with the cli-mate experts and activists.
They said the heat wave also affected most parts of South Asia and partly East Asia with countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand the Philippines and Vietnam.
According to the latest met office bulletin issued at 3 pm, the highest temperature was recorded at 42.6 degrees Celsius in Chuadanga, a day after Jashore recorded the year’s highest temperature at 4.7 degrees Celsius.
The temperature in Dhaka was recorded at 37.4 degrees Celsius but the high humidity has exposed the residents to massive discomfort.
“A very severe heat wave is sweeping over the districts of Rajshahi, Chuadanga & Pabna and severe heat wave is sweeping over the districts of Tangail, Bogura, Bagerhat, Jashore & Kushtia,” the bulletin read.
It said mild to moderate heat wave is sweeping over rest parts of Dhaka, Rajshahi and Khulna divisions and the divisions of Rangpur, Mymensingh and Barishal and the districts of Moulvibazar, Rangamati, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni and Bandarban and “it may continue”.
April is typically hot in Bangladesh as it is in other South and Southeast Asian countries, but according to meteorologists, temperatures this month have been unusually high which was highlighted by interna-tional media outlets as well.
According to the New York Times, hundreds of millions of people in South and Southeast Asia were suffering from a grueling heat wave that has forced schools to close, disrupted agriculture, and raised the risk of heat strokes and other health complications.
The recent report also specially acknowledged the Bangladesh scenario saying temperature in some areas soared above 42 degrees Celsius but the “numbers don’t quite capture how extreme humidity makes the heat feel even worse”.
The schools across the country were closed due to the extreme weather but students are struggling to or doing anything at home as well.
The heat wave prompted thousands of people to gather in city mosques having air condition facilities and rural fields, praying for relief from the scorching heat.
The heat wave has forced the healthcare facilities to take emergency measures to provide medical ser-vices with higher number of patients reporting to hospitals with heat-related ailments since the beginning of April while the children and elderly people appeared as the most vulnerable during this prolonged hot weather.
The hospitals and healthcare facilities including Shishu Hospital, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital and International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) reported iden-tical scenarios.
“Nearly, 500 diarrhoea patients have been admitted to the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Re-search, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). A significant number of patients are getting admission to ICDDRB dai-ly,” ICDDR’B spokesman AKM Tariful Islam Khan said earlier.
The health ministry issued a directive to take extra measures to face the crisis in hospitals across the country.
Doctors suggested people to stay indoors as much as possible and wear weather-suitable clothes during exposure to sun to protect them from heatstroke and take rest after one or two hours during working period alongside consuming more liquid food beside water to avoid dehydration during the heatwave.
“Our brains can tolerate certain level of temperature, if it exceeds people may faint, suffer heatstroke besides suffering from dehydration causing electrolyte imbalance and other complications including kid-ney dysfunction,” former Suhrawardy Hospital director Professor Dr Khalilur Rahman said.
