Dried throats, parched lips reign as heatwave sweeps across country
Today's highest temperature was recorded in Jashore at 42.6 degrees Celsius, with a death recorded in Pabna and Chuadanga
Zafar Iqbal, a rickshaw puller in Bejpara area of the Jashore, stands next to his rickshaw.
He lifts his hand up to shield his eyes from the blazing sun. It brings little relief. The paltry shadow it casts hardly a match for the soaring temperatures, which reached 42.6 degrees Celsius, the highest in the country.
The heat isn't just a health worry for Zafar. It has also hit his wallet.
"Less people are going out due to the heat. So I am earning less," he said.
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The heatwave has already taken two lives, in Pabna (41 degrees Celsius) and Chaudanga (42.3 degrees Celsius), just today.
Health notices have been issued over the severe heatwave being experienced in Khulna division and Rajshahi, Pabna and Tangail districts, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
The heatwave condition will remain unchanged for the five days commencing 9am today (20 April), it predicted.
Amid the onslaught by the sun, the education ministry has declared that all schools, colleges, madrasas, and technical education institutions throughout Bangladesh will remain closed until 27 April.
The capital, too, is sweating. Dhaka today recorded the second highest temperature since 1960 with a temperature of 40.4 degrees Celsius, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department data shows.
The highest temperature in Dhaka since 1960 was recorded at 40.6 degrees Celsius last year on 16 April. On 24 April 2014, the temperature in Dhaka had hit 40.2 degrees Celsius.
In 1960, the highest temperature of Dhaka was recorded at 42.3 degrees Celsius.
Water crisis rears head
Amid the heat, people are facing difficulties in getting water from tube wells as the water level has also gone down.
Babur Ali, a resident of Chandutia village of Jashore Sadar upazila, said he was hardly getting any water from the tubewell in his house for the last 13 days.
"It is not possible to get a bucket of water even after running the tubewell for a long time. Sometimes there is no water at all," said Salma Khatun, a resident of Churamankati village.
Abdullah Al Rashid, supervising engineer (Irrigation) of Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation said the underground water level has gone down and the situation will be fixed only when it rains.
Due to the low water level, farmers are finding it difficult to draw water with shallow machines for irrigation, said Sushant Kumar Tarafdar, deputy director of the Directorate of Agricultural Extension.
Jashore Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Abraul Hasan Majumdar said high temperature has been prevailing for the past few days.
Barishal sizzles at 39°C
Meanwhile, Barishal is currently grappling with an intense heatwave, with temperature reaching up to 39 degrees Celsius, highest in the division today (20 April).
Bashir Ahmed Hawlader, officer-in-charge of Barishal Met office, said this peak temperature was recorded at 3:00pm.
"The highest temperature recorded yesterday was 38.2 degrees Celsius. Today, it increased to 39 degrees Celsius. The same temperature may prevail for the next five days. Humidity was recorded at 58%," he added.
Talking to The Business Standard, Harun Hawladar, a rickshaw puller of the district, said, "Today, I was trying to complete two trips, but the scorching heat made it unbearable. So, I had to leave the rickshaw in the garage and stay at home. No earnings for today."
Suman, a businessman in the area, said, "The number of buyers in the market has decreased due to the extreme heat. It is becoming intolerable. If this persists for a few more days, nobody will dare to venture out of their houses."
Yasir Arafat, an easy bike driver, expressed, "Anticipating the heat to intensify over the next few days, I aim to start my day very early in the morning to collect the day's rent for the easy bike. But there are very few people on the streets."
