Shawdesh Desk:

People in Bangladesh’s northern district Kurigram are shivering as a moderate cold wave is sweeping over the region.

Local weather office recorded a temperature of 5.5 degrees Celsius in the morning, which is the lowest in the country.

Subal Chandra Sarkar, officer-in-charge of Kurigram Agricultural Meteorological Observatory confirmed this saying: “The mild cold wave is expected to last for a few more days.”

The normal life of the people has been disrupted. People who live from hand to mouth, the destitute, old and the young children have been the worst affected.

Kurigram, a district crisscrossed by 16 rivers, has a population of 2.5 million. About half a million people are believed to be living in its 520 river islands.

People say they are suffering for the lack of warm clothes.

The sun is hiding behind the clouds for most of the time. And a heavy fog is disrupting the regular vehicular movement in the district, locals said.

A cold snap affecting Boro paddy cultivation as the bone-chilling weather is not letting the farmers work as usual.

As the weather is getting colder, more people – mostly children – are getting admitted to hospitals with coldrelated diseases.

Meanwhile, the Met office said, “A mild cold wave is sweeping over Rangpur division, Gopalgonj, Sitakunda, Cumilla, Srimangal, Rajshahi, Pabna, Jashore and Chuadanga.”

The country is likely to be covered in mild to moderate fog from midnight to morning, said Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).

And the weather may remain mainly dry with a temporary partly cloudy sky over the country.