The maximum surface air temperature in south-west Bangladesh rose by more than 3C in the gap of 24 hours on Wednesday afternoon with a mild to moderate heatwave rapidly spreading over vast swathes of countryside and towns.
The heatwave that began on Tuesday in four districts expanded further to entirely engulf the divisions of Khulna and Rajshahi and also the districts of Manikganj, Tangail, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Dinajpur and Nilphamari.
On Wednesday, the highest maximum day temperature of 39.8C was recorded in Jashore. The day before, the highest maximum temperature of 36.7C was recorded in Ishwardi.
鈥楾he heatwave is likely to continue,鈥� said meteorologist Shahnaz Sultana.
With the heatwave continuing, day temperature could rise further.
The heatwave was part of an extreme situation that pervaded large swathes of land in India and Bangladesh. While large parts of India was swept by hot weather, parts of it, upstream of Bangladesh witnessed abnormally high rainfall in the 24 hours until 8:30am on Wednesday.
Southwest Khashi hills in Meghalaya received 2,346 per cent excess rainfall, recording 90.5mm of rain instead of normal 3.7mm. The Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh also recorded abnormally high rainfall, up to over 800 per cent.
In Bangladesh, Jafflong recorded 206mm of rainfall in the 24 hours until 9:00am on Wednesday, representing 13 per cent extra rainfall than the normal rainfall for the entire month 鈥� 181mm, according to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre.
Rivers in the Meghna basin rapidly swell following the spell of heavy rainfall. The Sarogowain River in Sarighat swelled by 338 cm, followed by three other rivers in the region swelling by more than 200 cm, the FFWC data showed.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department predicted thunder showers at a few places in the Sylhet division today and at one and two places in Mymensingh, Dhaka and Chattogram divisions.
With the heatwave spreading, the demand for power increased, giving rise to power cuts. Since April 21 noon, power cut was recorded at every hour, exceeding 100MW at times.
