The Bangladesh Meteorological Department announced the first cold wave of the season on Friday, about three weeks earlier than the past year.
A cold wave, which can be mild, moderate and severe, reflects the fall of air temperature over a large area below 10C.聽
The first cold wave of the season, which is likely to continue, was a mild one with the lowest day temperature of 8.4C recorded in Tetulia, one of the coldest places of the country.
The cold wave was sweeping over Panchagarh, Rajshahi and Chuadanga, the meteorological department said.
Last year, the first cold wave began on January 2, the second month of the three-month-long winter season.
鈥楾his winter might feel a bit colder this year,鈥� meteorologist Afroza Sultana told 抖阴精品.
Winter in Bangladesh brings dry air blowing from the west to the south, also known as westerly wind.
The meteorological department has observed a dominating presence of westerly this year.
鈥楾here may be more fog this year, intensifying the feeling of cold,鈥� said Afroza.
This December might stand out in many other recent Decembers since the month has been growing increasingly warmer, according to a BMD report titled 鈥楥hanging climate of Bangladesh鈥�, released in February.
The temperature observations from Bangladesh showed a clear climate signal, with fewer and shorter cold waves in the recent decades, the report said.
Cold waves became concentrated in January in Dhaka division, the report said, revealing that these waves occurred most frequently in January. There were some cases of cold waves in December and February as well, according to the report.
In one of the coldest areas of the country, Rangpur division, cold waves started in early or mid-December throughout the period studied鈥�1980鈥�2023. The northern district recorded a cold wave even in November in 1981. Even for the coldest place, the period of cold waves appears to have been delayed over the past few years, starting at the third or fourth week of December or even in January, the report said.
Historically, cold waves were frequent in January and February but in recent years the end of February had been without any, the report said about Rangpur. In Rajshahi division, known for extreme heat during summer and intense cold during winter, the period of cold waves started in the first week of December up to 2006 but then decreased, indicating a delay in cold wave conditions.
In 2023, no cold spell was recorded in December at all in Rajshahi. The number of cold wave days in December and February has decreased, but a large number of cold wave days were observed in January throughout the period 1980鈥�2023 in Rajshahi, the BMD report said.
Khulna division saw no cold waves in February since 1998. In 1997鈥�2009, no cold waves were in December in the coastal division. Cold waves decreased in January after 2001.
In Chattogram division, only one cold wave was ever recorded in December, February and March. No cold waves were recorded in the division in the last 10 years of the studied period. In Sylhet division, cold waves are no longer common in February as it used to be. January also got warmer with less cold days.
