Thick fog disrupts train schedules
The cloak of thick fog under which people across the country shivered for several days is gradually lifting with the temperatures rising.
The sun was seen at parts of the country on Monday providing respite to the people from the punishing cold that brought life to halt and disrupted communication by road, waterways, the railway and air.
On Monday, dense fog at morning disrupted railway schedules between the capital and the northern and the southern districts with many trains running one to seven hours behind their schedules.
‘The cold wave is over and the mercury would rise until Wednesday,’ said meteorologist Muhammad Abul Kalam Mallik.
On Monday, the country’s lowest minimum temperature of 10.2 C was recorded at Sitakunda and in the capital the lowest minimum temperature was 14.2 C.
The country’s highest temperature of 25.2 C was recorded at the border town of Teknaf.
Kalam predicted light to moderate rains across the country for Wednesday and Thursday to keep the temperatures steady.
‘Friday onwards the temperatures would fall by one to three C for two days,’ he said.
The Met Office said that January being the e coldest month in Bangladesh it was likely to be colder.
Bangladesh is not prepared to cope with intense cold weather for its homes are not designed to be confortable in winter rather more suited to warm weather.
Bangladesh Railway additional director general Mia Jahan told New Age that due to fog the BR struggled to maintain train schedules.
The Chitra Express reached Khulna seven hours behind the schedule on Monday, he said.
Jahan said that the railway staff were under strict instructions to slow down train movements during low visibility.
The Met Office predicted that moderate to thick fogs might affect visibility in the early hours of Tuesday.
The Health Emergency Operations Centre and Control Room said that on Monday, 5,485 people were treated or admitted to government hospitals at 296 upazilas for cold related diseases.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
