Chilling cold disrupts life in Bangladesh’s Kurigram dist

Two young women out for work in cold and foggy weather in Kurigram, a northernmost district of Bangladesh on Monday.

Kurigram, Dec 11 -Kurigram district has been grappling with severe cold and dense fog over the past few days, significantly disrupting daily life and activities.

The extreme weather conditions have particularly affected children, the elderly, day laborers, and those in underprivileged communities.

From evening until the next morning, a dense fog blankets the area, and compels residents to remain indoors. The fog is so thick that vehicles are forced to use headlights even during the day, and water transport services have been completely halted.

Belal Hossain, a boatman at Jatrapur Ghat in Sadar upazila, shared with UNB’s district correspondent that while road vehicles can navigate with headlights, river transport cannot operate under these conditions. He noted that journeys that usually take an hour on the river now take around three hours due to the dense fog, leading to a standstill in both daytime and nighttime operations.

Local resident Tajul Islam expressed his astonishment at the severity of the fog, noting that he hasn't seen anything like it in the last two or three years. The fog, he mentioned, descends at night.

Subal Chandra Sarkar, a weather official in Rajarhat, reported that the morning temperature in the district was recorded at 14.8 degrees Celsius and is expected to drop further in the coming days. He also predicted that a mild to moderate cold wave might sweep the area after December 20. - UNB