Dhaka: With the mercury shooting up to 37.6 degrees Celsius, this year’s highest for the capital, in Dhaka city yesterday (Thursday), the question everyone is asking is how long will the heat last. People suffering in the sweltering heat are asking the same question in the northern cities and towns like Sylhet, Rajshahi and the little town of Rajarhat in Kurigram, where the maximum temperature rose to 39C without a flake of cloud in the sky.
Rickshaw-pullers and CNG-drivers had a field day as they charged extra money for offering their services under a blazing sun. Relief is not far off, though, consoled weathermen at the Dhaka Met Office yesterday afternoon. Passengers of a local bus riding to the city from Savar were desperate for a breath of fresh air. They said it was like being roasted alive inside the bus.
High humidity made conditions unbearable. There was not a drop of rain
till the morning when the Met Office takes count of the precipitation. But a meteorologist said the temperature would start falling from Friday, with some rain having a cooling effect.
There would more rain from Sunday to Monday, and the intensity of showers would increase thereafter.
Although it was the eighth day of the Bengali month of Shrabon, which usually brings thick clouds and heavy rainfall, the climate has remained dry and hot so far.
The hot spell was not the effect of El Nino or its opposite, La Nina, weather phenomena that influence monsoon rain, senior meteorologist Bazlur Rashid said.
