Excessive heat continued on Tuesday to disrupt normal life as a severe to mild heat wave had been sweeping Bangladesh amid a surging power crisis.
Streets in parts of Bangladesh, particularly in the southwest, were desolate as people avoided getting outside their homes after noon as the daytime maximum temperature remained around 40C in some places.
Bangladesh鈥檚 maximum daytime temperature of 40.6C was recorded in Chuadanga at 3:00pm on Tuesday. Except Rangpur division, the maximum daytime temperatures in rest of the country ranged between 36C and 40C.
鈥楶eople are not coming out of home unless there is an emergency,鈥� said Sazzat Hasan, civil surgeon, Chuadanga.
鈥楽treets around here wear a desolate look after noon,鈥� he said.
Physicians have advised people to stay indoors between 12:00 noon and 5:00pm and drink two to three litres of water a day.
But not everybody can follow the advice. In cities and towns hundreds of homeless families live exposed to the scorching heat under the sun.
Heat radiated by metaled roads has made life unbearable for thousands of rickshaw pullers, who spend their day mostly under the open sky, not protected by any shade.
International weather forecasting agencies have warned heat stress unless adequate protective measures are taken.
A heat stress is when human body fails to control its internal temperature, which may lead to conditions, including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, heat cramps, fainting and heat rash.
Prolonged exposure to heat can trigger heat stress, warned the World Health Organisation.
Bangladesh saw its highest maximum day temperature stay above 40C for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday with forecasts of the hot weather condition persisting through the rest of the month except some isolated incidents of potential rainfall.
The capital Dhaka saw its daytime temperature peak at 38.4C at 3:00pm on Tuesday before a very brief spell of rain around after 4:00pm brought the temperature down to 34C.
In an unusual event, the day temperature reached 40.6C in Bangladesh鈥檚 coastal division Barishal鈥檚 Khepupara, denoting a weak flow of southerly from the Bay of Bengal.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said that Khepupara saw its hottest day in 43 years on April 15.
Chuadanga, which appears to be the hottest place in the country, also saw its day temperature reach 40.6C on Tuesday.
The hottest ever day in the bordering district was recorded to be April 15, 1964 with the day temperature reaching 44.5C.
Last year, April 17 was the hottest day when the maximum day temperature recorded to be 43C.
Intermittent power cuts have made life miserable, especially for farmers who need to irrigate their boro fields by lifting groundwater.
On Tuesday, load shedding peaked at 12:00 midnight past Monday at 552MW with 13,650MW generated against the demand of 13,072MW.
The electricity demand has increased by more than 3,400MW since April 11, the day Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated amid suspension of daily life activities.
Power demand is expected to rise by another 4,000MW by this month when the daytime temperature in the capital is predicted to reach 40C or above.
Power cuts are likely to rapidly increase as readymade garment factories gradually return to operation full swing within the week.
Last summer, load shedding exceeded 3,000MW.
Authorities channelled 55 per cent of its total gas supply to power plants on April 15, the day Petrobangla supplied 2,345mmcfd in the national grid, including 936mmcfd of liquefied natural gas.
Petrobangla operation director Kamruzzaman Khan said that they have maintained a reduced gas supply as the demand is still low.
鈥榃e hope to increase the gas supply to 3100mmcfd this month,鈥� said Kamruzzaman.
An analysis of Petrobangla鈥檚 daily generation report revealed that gas production by international oil companies halved to 632mmcfd on April 15 compared with April 9, the day before the Eid holiday had begun.
The BMD predicted rain at one or two places in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Chattogram and Sylhet.
The BMD said that a severe heat wave has been sweeping over Chuadanga and Bagerhat, while a mild to moderate heat wave has been sweeping over Rajshahi, Dhaka, the rest of Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions.
