Country to see scattered rain for another 7 days: Met Office

 
Different parts of Bangladesh experienced rainfall on Sunday night after the longest heatwave in the country's history. The easing of temperatures brought some relief. These scattered showers are likely to continue for the next seven days, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

"On Monday, the Sylhet, Chattogram, Mymensingh, and Dhaka Divisions saw more rainfall," said meteorologist Monowar Hosasin on Monday evening. "It is likely that scattered rainfall will continue across the country over the next seven days as well." The day's record for rain was Feni, which saw 107mm of rain in three hours, Monowar said.

According to the 72-hour forecast, large parts of the Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, and Barishal Divisions and some parts of the Rangpur, Mymensingh, Chattogram, and Sylhet Divisions will experience gusty or stormy winds with rain and thunderstorms on Tuesday. Parts of the country may also experience scattered hailstorms.

Daytime temperatures may drop slightly across the country, while nighttime temperatures will remain largely unchanged.

Sarder Udoy Raihan, executive engineer at the Water Development Board's Flood Forecasting and Warning Center, said yesterday that, according to information from Bangladeshi and global meteorological organisations, moderate to heavy rainfall is expected in the northeast of the country and the adjacent areas upstream in the next 24 hours.

As a result, the water level of the main rivers in the Sylhet, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, and Habiganj districts may rise rapidly. The main rivers in the Netrokona and Kishoreganj districts may also rise steadily.

Meanwhile, students of the pre-primary level will return to classrooms on Tuesday with the record-breaking heatwave starting to ease. Primary schools will also hold classes from 9am as per the normal routine starting on Sunday instead of a revised timeframe put in place amid the heatwave. The primary and mass education ministry announced the decisions in a notice on Monday.

The schools were supposed to resume in-person lessons on Apr 21 after a long Eid-ul-Fitr holiday, but the government closed the institutions for a week because of life-threatening temperatures.

The primary education ministry announced a revised routine for the resumption of classes on Apr 28 with the heat continuing.

Many students fell ill during classes on Apr 28 and Apr 29. The High Court then ordered the schools and madrasas shut until May 2.

Classes resumed on Sunday after temperatures eased with the arrival of rain. Pre-primary education remained closed during this period.

On April 17, the day temperature in Jashore crossed 40.2C in the latest spell of heatwave. Ever since the BMD started keeping record 76 years ago in 1948, Jashore saw its day temperature hit 43.8C twice-once on April 30 this year and before that on April 2, 1963. April 30 was the hottest day in Bangladesh since 1989.

Extensive scientific research has found climate change is causing heat waves to become longer, more frequent and more intense. The punishing heat last month prompted Bangladesh's government to close schools across the country, keeping an estimated 32 million students at home.

>>RR Badhon, AA