Tetulia logs lowest temperature in Bangladesh for 3 straight days

Tetulia upazila in Bangladesh's northernmost district of Panchagarh is living up to its reputation this winter.

For the third day in a row, Tetulia recorded the lowest temperature in the country – at 10°C – on Sunday morning.

The country's lowest temperature was recorded in Tetulia last Saturday and Friday as well.

As a mild cold wave is sweeping across Panchagarh, and the residents of the district have been suffering because of the biting cold and thick fog.

Vehicles are moving cautiously with headlights on till morning due to dense fog. 

The worst sufferers are poor people and daily wage earners. Many of them cannot go to work in the morning. They cannot leave the house due to the bitter cold, and their daily income has decreased. 

Anwarul, a rickshaw-van puller, said nothing can be seen in the fog until 8am-9am. Even if people like him leave home in the morning, they cannot earn anything as the streets remain empty due to the cold.

Bangla Tribune

Bakkar, another daily wage earner from Amarkhana union, said he could not leave the house because of the frosty wind and fog. “It is so cold outside that I cannot leave home. As there is no work, there is no food for my family. We all are in danger,” he said. 

Due to a lack of winter clothes, the poor and helpless people in rural areas are living inhumane life. Poor people in rural areas are trying to ward off the winds of winter by burning straws.

However, the Panchagarh district administration is said to have distributed blankets to around 25,000 people.

Amid the harshness of winter, the number of elderly and children patients in hospitals is also increasing. 

Panchagarh Modern Sadar Hospital Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Taufiq Ahmed said 164 patients are now admitted at the 100-bed hospital. As a result, many patients are having to stay on the floor. 

Children and the elderly are mostly affected by diarrhoea. There are also patients with asthma and respiratory problems, he said. 

Taufiq Ahmed advised children and the elderly to keep warm.

Roknuzzaman Rokon of the Tetulia met office said the district is experiencing severe cold due to frosty air blowing from the north. “The lowest temperature on Sunday was recorded at 10°C in Tetulia and Sreemangal. The temperature on Friday and Saturday had been recorded at 8.7°C here,” he said.