Bangladesh likely to swelter in heatwave for another two months, Met Office says

The air is more humid while the lack of rain has also pushed the mercury up, according to a meteorologist

Dhaka and the rest of Bangladesh have been enduring an unusual spell of hot weather for the past few days. And to add to the woes of residents, the Met Office has ruled out the possibility of an early respite.

"The temperature is likely to remain the same until September. The mercury may drop a bit, but it won't feel any cooler," said meteorologist Abul Kalam Mallik.

Despite mercury readings ranging between 32-34 degrees Celsius, the air's high humidity makes it feel even hotter. The scarcity of rainfall adds to the discomfort as it hampers the body's cooling mechanism through sweating, according to Mallik.

The meteorologist does not expect much rainfall in the next few days. Even if it does rain, it is unlikely to alleviate the heatwave, he said.

He attributed the unrelenting heat to the inactive monsoon winds currently hovering over the Bay of Bengal.

Parts of the Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions, and a handful of locations in the Mymensingh and Dhaka divisions may experience light to moderate rain on Wednesday, according to the Met Office. Some parts of the country may experience moderate to heavy downpours.

The ongoing heatwave sweeping through Tangail, Rajshahi, Bogura, Rangpur, Pabna, Chuadanga, and Nilphamari is likely to persist. Meteorologists expect a low-pressure system to develop over the north-western Bay and surrounding areas over the next three days.

The highest temperature on Tuesday was 37.1 degrees Celsius in Rajshahi, while the mercury peaked at 35.2 degrees Celsius in Dhaka. The lowest temperature was recorded at 24.7 degrees Celsius in Bandarban.

Dhaka, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Rangpur, and Khulna divisions experienced almost no rainfall in the last 24 hours. The highest rainfall was recorded in Rangamati at 24mm.