People in Dinajpur are experiencing severe cold coupled with a foggy atmosphere.
The cold spell is hampering daily life in the district.
Dense fog and cold waves have disrupted public life, especially workers and low-income people who are passing days in hardship without getting work.
People living in areas near the riverbanks are unable to sleep at night due to the severe cold. There has been a noticeable lack of distribution of winter clothing this year.
Roksana, 55, a female labourer who lives in Gobra Para near the bank of the Punarbhaba River in Dinajpur, said: “I sometimes do not get work due to this cold weather. This has led to scarcity and hardship in my family for food and other necessities.”
Roksana lives in a fenced house. At night, cold winds rush in along with fog. She cannot sleep properly due to the severe cold.
Meanwhile, Monglu, 65, another labourer of the area, told Dhaka Tribune: “I often do not get work due to his physical disability. As I live near the river, the wind enters my house and makes it difficult for me to sleep properly at night. Poverty and hardship are always with us, and winter has only worsened our troubles.”
On Sunday morning, Dinajpur recorded a temperature of 5.3°C, according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
From evening until morning, there has been a light drizzling rain amidst dense fog. After 11am, the sun was visible. The rising sun brought some relief to the low-income and poor people.
All the primary and secondary schools in Dinajpur have been declared closed due to the cold wave.
Dinajpur Met Office in-charge Asaduzzaman Asad said: "There is a possibility of drizzle this month."
Children are suffering from various cold-related diseases including diarrhoea, pneumonia, bronchitis, respiratory distress, fever, and colds.
Every day, over a hundred children receive treatment both outdoors and indoors at the Dinajpur Aurobindo Shishu Hospital.
Dinajpur Aurobindo Shishu Hospital Pediatrician Dr Monindra Nath Roy said: “We are struggling to provide medical care to children. No one should go outside unless necessary and children should not be exposed to the cold in any way.”
Due to the dense fog, there is a possibility of damage to potato and Boro seedbeds.
Dinajpur Agricultural Extension Department Deputy Director Muhammad Nuruzzaman recommended covering the Boro seedbeds with polythene to prevent damage.
The lowest temperature of this season has been recorded at Tetulia of Panchagarh and Dinajpur.
The temperature was recorded at 5°C at Tetulia on Sunday morning.
Besides, another northern district Dinajpur recorded the lowest temperature at 5.3°C in the morning.
