Met office forecasts storms, heatwave in April

Midway through the Bangla month of Chaitra, storms swept through parts of the country, including the capital Dhaka. And the trend is likely to continue at the start of Boishakh, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said.

In the outlook for April, which falls between the end of Chaitra and the start Boishakh on the Bangla calendar, the the Met office forecasts two to three days of intense storms, about six days of thunderstorms followed by sporadic heatwaves.

At the same time, there are fears of a cyclone forming over the Bay of Bengal, said Abul Kalam Mollik, a senior meteriologist.

The chances of thunderstorms and seasonal storms, locally known as Kalboishakhi storms, are higher during the warm months of April and May, especially in the north-western and east-western regions of the country, he said. 

Two seasonal storms struck the country on Sunday and Tuesday. At least six people were killed in Dhaka in the first Kalboishakhi storm of the season  which uprooted trees, sunk a boat, blown away bricks from buildings, and caused a wall to collapse.

The storm on Sunday packed a wind speed of 73 km per hour while on Tuesday, the wind speed in Dhaka was 42 km per hour.

One or two lows may set in over the Bay of Bengal in April, one of which can turn into a cyclonic storm, said Abul Kalam.

Intense thunderstorms may hit the northern and central regions for two to three days.

After the storms, the southern and south-western regions may experience mild to moderate heatwaves.