Shawdesh desk:

Parts of Bangladesh endured the ongoing heat wave for the 15th consecutive day on Wednesday, with little possibility of rain giving the inhabitants of these areas relief from the intense spell of heat anytime soon.

The latest weather forecast from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department advised people to stay prepared to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr in a hot and humid environment, particularly in the western region of the country.

There may be scattered rain—light to moderate—in pockets of northern, central, and southern Bangladesh today, according to the BMD, slightly bringing down the temperature for a brief period.

‘Overall, the atmosphere will remain hot and humid,’ meteorologist Bazlur Rashid told New Age.

Increasing humidity, with an increased flow of southerly wind and clouds from the Bay of Bengal, may keep the feeling of heat intense despite a slight drop in temperature in places visited by rain, he said.

With the heat wave persisting, the acute shortage of electricity is likely to continue, which has resulted in frequent load shedding across Bangladesh.

On Tuesday, despite increased production, the power shortage during the peak electricity generation hour at 9:00 pm was 482MW.

The highest power shortage of 1,722MW on Tuesday was recorded at 9:00am.

Over 1,000MW of power shortage was recorded in 19 hours of Tuesday.

New Age correspondent in Rajshahi reported that special prayers were offered in the district for rain on Tuesday when the temperature soared to 42.5C, the second highest temperature the district has witnessed so far this summer.

Rajshahi Meteorological Observatory officer Kamal Uddin said that there was no possibility of immediate relief from the heat as there was no chance of significant rain.

On Tuesday, the country’s highest day temperature of 42.8C was recorded in Ishwardi and Chuadanga.

The day temperature in Dhaka rose by half a degree Celsius to 37.6C after two days of falling.

BMD’s 24-hour weather bulletin issued at 6:00pm said that a severe heat wave was sweeping over Rajshahi, Pabna, Chuadanga, Jashore, and Kushtia.

A severe heat wave occurs when the day temperature touches or exceeds 40C.

A mild to moderate heat wave, on the other hand, blew over the entire divisions of Dhaka and Rangpur and the districts of Bogura, Naogaon, Moulvibazar, Rangamati, Chandpur, Khulna, Satkhira, Barishal, Patuakhali, and Bhola.

The heat wave was likely to continue, said the BMD bulletin, predicting that the night and day temperatures may remain unchanged.

A mild heat wave indicates the day temperature between 36C and 37.9C while a moderate heat wave occurs when the day temperature ranges between 38C and 39.9C.

The country’s lowest temperature of 22.4C  was recorded in Teknaf on Wednesday.

Physicians advised people to stay hydrated and avoid roaming under the sun unless it was urgent to avoid getting heat-related illnesses during the Eid holidays.

The current heat wave began on April 5 and is classified as mild to moderate. It turned severe on April 13 and has continued ever since in parts of Bangladesh, often switching areas.