The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has extended the heatwave alert in four divisions, including a part of Dhaka division, for the next 48 hours, starting from on Tuesday.
The heat alert was extended as Bangladesh experienced its highest temperature in the last 52 years at 43.8°C in Jessore. The residents of Chudanga sweltered at 43.7°C on the same day.
Rajshahi sizzled in 45.1°C on May 18, 1972, after independence, the highest in the recorded history of Bangladesh.
The previous second-highest temperature in the country was recorded on May 1, 1995, at 43.5°C.
As a result of the searing heatwave, a section of the Dhaka-Narsingdi railway line has bent in Pubail, Gazipur. There was no disruption in train movement as authorities used another double line, according to Tongi Junction Station Master Rakibur Rahman.
He said railway officials went to the spot and brought water from nearby drains and ponds to the tracks. Then, when the railway line cooled down, train movement became normal.
On Monday, the High Court ordered the closure of primary and secondary schools and madrasas till Thursday as severe heat bakes Bangladesh.
Regarding the closure, Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury said schools will be kept open on Fridays if needed to finish lessons according to curriculums.
"There are a total of 185 working days. If we need to keep schools open on Friday, we will do so. If needed, we will also keep schools open on Saturday," the minister said during a press briefing at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
“We are respectful of the court's decision. The court's decision will be followed until an appeal is filed,” he added.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said on Tuesday that a very severe heatwave is sweeping over Jessore, Chuadanga, Pabna and Rajshahi districts, and a severe heatwave is sweeping over Dhaka division and the rest of Khulna and Rajshahi divisions.
“A mild to moderate heatwave is sweeping over Barisal, Rangpur and Chittagong divisions and the district of Mymensingh,” it added.
Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is also likely to occur at one or two places over Chittagong and Sylhet divisions with hail at isolated places, the BMD further said.
At least two more people died of heatstroke across the country on Tuesday.
In Natore, a man died of heatstroke while picking corn in a field in Naldanga upazila. The deceased was Khairul Islam, 50, from Khajura Ujanpara village of the upazila.
According to locals, Khairul, an expatriate who had returned to Bangladesh, went to his field to collect corn. At one point, in the extreme heat, he fell ill and fell to the ground with convulsions.
Later, locals rescued him and took him to a local community clinic, where the duty doctor declared him dead.
In Tangail, an elderly person named Munser Ali died after suffering a heat stroke at Taltola village of Kalihati upazila. Locals said that Munser suddenly fell ill and died after returning home from the local grocery market.
The two deaths added to a further 10 people who have died of heatstroke across the country in the last seven days, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Among them, three people died in the 24 hours till 9am on Tuesday. Two were residents of Madaripur, while one hailed from Chittagong.
Among the total deceased till 9am on Tuesday, eight were men and two were women.