Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
Normal life is being disrupted across the northern district of Kurigram due to fog and dropping temperature with the approach of winter.
Farmers, labourers and daily wage earners have been hard hit as they need to go out for work amid dense fog and chilly weather.
The minimum temperature in the district was recorded at 16°C at 7am on Saturday and the sun was not up until 9am.
From midnight to morning, vast areas remain blanketed in dense fog, disrupting transportation as vehicular movement on various routes are getting disrupted.
Although the temperature slightly increases during the day, the chill becomes more intense from midnight onwards.
The cold weather has led to a rise in winter-related illnesses including colds, fevers, and respiratory problems like pneumonia and diarrhoea with hospitals seeing more patients daily.
Abdul Malek, a resident of Mather Par village in Sadar upazila, said: "The chill has increased noticeably over the past two days. It feels like it’s raining all night due to the thick fog, making it difficult to work."
Rickshaw puller Rohomot from the same area said: "In the morning I can’t see the road because of the dense fog. I have to use lights to drive.”
Subal Chandra Sarkar, the acting officer of the Kurigram Meteorological Office said: "Although the current cold isn’t severe and chilly winds may begin next week, lowering the district's temperature in the coming days."
According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), the lowest temperature of 14.3°C was recorded in Panchagarh’s Tetulia on Friday while maximum temperature of 31.8°C was recorded in Kutubdia and Cox’s Bazar respectively.
