Mild heatwave sweeps over five districts as temperatures soar on the first day of Chaitra

Temperatures are set to drop, with light to moderate rain expected by the end of this week

A mild heatwave swept across five districts of Bangladesh on Saturday, the first day of the Bengali month of Chaitra.

“The intensity of the heatwave is likely to decrease from Monday,” Meteorologist AKM Nazmul Haque told bdnews24.com.

“There are no signs of severe heatwaves until the 25th of March.”

He added that light to moderate rainfall is expected from Mar 20 to 22, with the possibility of scattered heavy showers in some areas.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department, or BMD, said in its regular bulletin on Saturday that a mild heatwave was sweeping over Rajshahi, Pabna, Sirajganj, Kushtia, and Rangamati districts, which may persist.

The highest temperature in the country was recorded at 37.5°C in Kushtia’s Kumarkhali while Dhaka experienced a maximum temperature of 34.9°C.

The forecast for the next 24 hours indicated that daytime temperatures could slightly rise while nighttime temperatures may remain unchanged.

The Met Office said that from 6pm on Saturday, there may be rain or thundershowers with gusty or stormy winds in a few places of Sylhet Division over the next 24 hours.

Other parts of the country are expected to remain dry with occasional partial cloud cover.