A cold spell has hit the northern district of Dinajpur, with mercury dropping for the last few days.
Besides, thick fog blankets the district every day from midnight.
Due to fog, vehicles are running with their lights on in the morning.
According to officials at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, a cold wave is likely to hit this month, and light rain may also occur. The temperature may fall by 6-8 °C.
Dense fog has been seen in Dinajpur for the past few days. Even when the sun rises, there is not that much heat.
During this time people do not leave their homes except for urgent needs. Along with thick fog, people are experiencing bone-chilling colds. It is becoming difficult for low-income people to go out to work, according to locals.
Latifur Rahman of Sukhsagar area said: "Every morning I go out with an easy bike. In the winter mornings, there are fewer easy bikes than usual. For that there are a number of passengers on the road. But for a few days, people are not coming out of their homes because of winter. It seems that my hands and legs are freezing in the extreme cold as I am operating the vehicle.”
Sirajul Islam of the same area said: "I went out with a bicycle to sell some vegetables in the morning. I brought them to Bahadurbazar. But in the morning I could not hold the handle of the bicycle because of the extreme cold. It was as if my hands were freezing in the cold.”
Feroz Islam of Gopalganj area said: “Now is the time to sow rice seeds. There are potatoes in the field. If such fog remains, outbreaks of diseases will occur. At this time we are very afraid. There has been heavy fog for a few days, so we have to spray pesticides on the potatoes.”
Safiqul Islam of Rajbati area said: “It is very cold here. Normal work is being hampered due to the cold.”
According to the Dinajpur meteorological observatory, the lowest temperature recorded in the district on Wednesday was 14°C.
Earlier, the lowest temperature was 13.5° on Tuesday and 13.1°C on Monday.
District meteorological office's Md Asaduzzaman said although the temperature increased slightly on Wednesday, there has been thick fog since this morning.
The temperature may drop gradually; besides, a cold wave is likely to hit at the end of the month. Light rain may occur along with it, he added.
