There is no good news for the cold-hit people in the country as the Met office says the cold-spell sweeping over the country may continue for the next two days, while the chilling condition is likely to improve from Wednesday. "The severe cold wave is sweeping over Rajshahi, Pabna, Dinajpur and Kushtia regions and it may continue for the next two days," Nijhum Rokeya Ahmed, a meteorologist at Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), told BSS yesterday morning.

The mild to moderate cold wave, sweeping over Dhaka, Mymensingh and Barisal divisions and the remaining parts of Rajshahi, Rangpur and Khulna divisions and the regions of Srimangal and Sitakunda, is also likely to continue by this time, she said, adding that the weather may start to be normal from January 10.

Moderate to thick fog may occur over the country from midnight to tomorrow morning and it may continue at some places till noon while weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country, said a Met office press release yesterday

Biting cold continues to sweep through the northern region of the country paralysing normal life. Due to severe cold and thick fog, the sun remains invisible almost all day. Apart from

the north, the other parts of the country also experienced significant dip in mercury.

Dinajpur was worst hit by cold yesterday as Met Office recorded the lowest temperature there at 5.01 degrees Celsius. Children and elderly people suffered most as they were reportedly getting affected with different cold-related diseases. Low-income people also took the hit as they failed to go out for their day to day work. Lack of warm clothes troubled the poor and distressed people in rural areas.

In Rajshahi, the situation was no better as residents of the region had to endure unbearable cold, with the mercury dipping to 5.3 degrees Celsius.

Cold gripped the entire region, with freezing winds blowing westwards and the sun hidden by a dense fog for the past 24 hours.

The extreme cold was experienced in Rajshahi city, too, with dewdrops falling overnight. The city’s roads and alleys appeared desolate till midday as residents mostly kept themselves confined to their houses to avoid the bone-chilling cold.

The sufferings of poor people, especially daily wage-earners, mounted, as they could neither go out for work, braving the chill, nor stay at home starving. Low-income people also felt the pain of the biting cold for want of warm clothing.

The fierce cold wave started to grip Rajshahi from the first week of the new year. Slum and footpath-dwellers are suffering to no end. Yet, no NGO or individual has come forward to help the affected people.

Ashraful Alam, officer-in-charge of the Rajshahi Meteorological Department, said the cold wave was blowing throughout the north-western and northern regions of the country, which was why the regions were experiencing a severe cold weather. He said because of the drop in the difference between the highest and lowest temperatures, the people of the region are feeling cold even at noon, and in full sunshine.

The highest day temperature of the region fluctuated between 21 and 23 degree Celsius, the sources said. The humidity in air today was 91 per cent at 6am.

Meanwhile, as a result of the intense cold, many people have fallen ill. Rajshahi Medical College Hospital and the upazila health complexes of the district are also seeing a huge turnout of patients affected by the unbearable cold.

RMCH sources said more than 100 patients, who have been afflicted with cold-related diseases, have been admitted to the hospital in the last three days. Hundreds of others are being treated outdoors. Most of the patients are children and aged people. A majority of the children are suffering from cold-diarrhoea.  

In Lalmonirhat, dense fog and biting cold wave paralysed normal life in rural and urban areas across for last couple of days. Although the sun was visible in day time, there was no respite for the people there as they had to endure chilling cold.

At nightfall, fog hindered traffic movement in the district. People, especially the aged, beggars, day labourers and rickshaw pullers are the worst suffer there. Biting cold klept them from earning their daily earning.

Cold-related diseases among the children and elderly people are increasing in outdoor of hospitals in the district. Farming was also affected by the cold as vast swaths of potato fields are getting covered by dense fog. Potato farmers are worried that the production may get affected if dense fog continues.

The situation was no different in Tangail as severe cold disrupted normal life in the district as well.

Biting cold coupled with dense fog and cold air paralysed normal life in 12 upazilas of the district. Poor people are the worst sufferers here.

Government hospitals and private clinics and health centers were reportedly crowded with patients having cold-related ailments.

Patients are mostly affected with bronchitis, cough, asthma, pneumonia, fever, dysentery and Diarrhoea. Many patients are not getting beds in the hospitals due to the rise in cold-related diseases.

Cold also posed difficulties for drivers on the Dhaka-Tangail highway, one of the busiest in the country, as they had to drive at a snail’s pace that resulted in tailback.