Fog disrupts ferry services
Bangladesh Meteorological Department on Friday warned that a mild to moderate cold wave might start from tomorrow.
January, the coldest winter month, felt rather warm so far with minimum and maximum temperatures聽 not dropping to the forecast level.
A cold wave was predicted to start from January 14 but the temperature did not drop, but rather increased over the last two days.
On Friday, Bangladesh鈥檚 highest maximum day temperature of 31.3C was recorded in Cox鈥檚 Bazaar and Teknaf, far higher than the average daily normal temperature on the date for the coastal district 鈥� 26.8C and 27.4, respectively.
The lowest minimum temperature, on the other hand, was recorded in Srimangal with 11.3C, higher than the average normal temperature for the day in the districts 鈥� 9.9C.
鈥楾his January is feeling rather warm. Skies are this year abnormally clear allowing ample sunlight to enter and there is less fog,鈥� said meteorologist Omar Faruque.
Only two very brief cold waves swept Bangladesh in January, each lasting three days 鈥� January 2 to 4, and January 9 to 11. The first cold wave impacted five districts at its peak, followed by the second one hitting 10 districts.
The next cold wave is likely to be of the same scale, the BMD said.
There is little chance of the cold wave getting severe.
Light to moderate fog might occur over the country in the morning, the BMD said.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Manikganj reported that ferry services on the Aricha-Kazirhat route resumed at about 9:30am on Friday after a six-hour suspension due to dense fog.
As the fog began to lift, ferry operations were restored in late morning, bringing relief to hundreds of stranded passengers and vehicles. During the suspension, two Ro-Ro ferries, Shah Ali and Dhanshiri, were stuck in the middle of the river with both passengers and vehicles on board.
The ferry service on the Paturia-Daulatdia route was also halted due to fog. Four ferries鈥擠haka, Enayetpuri, Banalata, and Keramat Ali鈥攂ecame stuck mid-river, and a total of eight ferries were delayed at different terminals.
The suspension of ferry services left over 300 vehicles stranded at both ferry terminals, most of which were cargo trucks, private cars, and microbuses. As visibility improved, priority was given to passenger vehicles, with cargo trucks being gradually allowed to cross.
The temperature observations from Bangladesh showed a clear climate signal, with fewer and shorter cold waves in the recent decades, said the BMD report titled 鈥楥hanging climate of Bangladesh鈥�, released in February last year.
Historically, cold waves were frequent in January and February but in recent years the end of February had been without any, the report said about Rangpur, the coldest area.
Cold had become concentrated in January lately. But this year, even January appeared far warmer than expected.