This Eid vacation is likely to be spent in discomfort and suffering as conditions become favourable for the ongoing humid heatwave to intensify over the period amid crises severely restricting power generation capacity.
The Eid vacation begins on June 16, when the ongoing heatwave is likely to spread over vast areas and continue until June 19.
While India further reduced its power supply, demanding outstanding electricity bills, Bangladesh on Wednesday sent one of its two floating storage re-gasification units, rendered out of order by the cyclonic storm Remal, to Singapore to be repaired.
鈥楾he repair is likely to take about a month,鈥� said Kamruzzaman Khan, director of Petrobangla.
The power sector received only 40 per cent of its required gas supply on Wednesday as the FSRU was out of order.
Bangladesh鈥檚 two FSRUs have the capacity to supply 1,100mmcfd of LNG. On Wednesday, LNG supply fell to 600mmcfd.
Load-shedding exceeded 1,000MW on Wednesday as India maintained its position of supplying less power until its outstanding electricity bills were paid.
From Tripura, which was supposed to supply 160MW, Bangladesh received between 60 and 90MW on June 11.
The power supply through the Bheramara HDVC hovered between 700 and 900MW against its supposed supply of 1,000MW.
Many power plants remained shut down because of gas and coal shortages, according to the daily generation report of the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh. The energy crisis is owed to the dollar crisis.
Load-shedding peaked at 1055MW at 1:00am when the power demand rose to 16100MW. The power supply stood at 14,995MW at the peak load-shedding hour.
Bangladesh鈥檚 current installed power generation capacity is above 30,000MW.
On Wednesday, Bangladesh鈥檚 maximum temperature of 38C was recorded in Rajshahi.
A mild heatwave was sweeping over Faridpur, Tangail, Manikganj, Rajshahi, Pabna, Jashore, Chuadanga, and Kushtia, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
鈥楾he heatwave is likely to intensify around Eid day,鈥� said meteorologist Kazi Jebunnesa.
On Wednesday, Dhaka鈥檚 highest maximum day temperature was recorded to be 35.9C.
At 6:00pm, humidity stood at 72 per cent, slightly less than 88 per cent in the morning, according to the BMD.
High humidity increases public health risks manifold, for it hampers the process of the human body cooling off by producing sweat. High humidity reduces evaporation.
A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in January 2022 showed that when combined heat and humidity pass
31.5C it becomes very difficult for the body to cool itself off.
The study called the condition 鈥榥on-compensable heat stress鈥� which could lead to death within hours.
The presence of humidity often exceeds 90 per cent in the monsoon, which just started and is likely to remain until September.
Studies warn that global warming might trigger more deadly, humid heatwaves than ever before.
Heatwaves are not unusual in the monsoons but are rare. But their numbers are clearly rising throughout the monsoon when the air holds the highest moisture of the year.
The BMD-published report titled Changing Climate of Bangladesh said that June heatwaves occurred in six of the years in the decade between 1981 and 1990 in Dhaka division.
In the next decade, June heatwaves occurred only twice in Dhaka. In the years between 2001 and 2010, there were no heatwaves in six years in June in Dhaka. But the June heatwaves occurred in eight years of the decade between 2011 and 2020.
In 2023, the June heatwave was particularly bad, leading to a water crisis in parts of Bangladesh, including the capital.
The historic heatwave records of other divisions showed a similar trend.
The BMD predicted light to moderate rain accompanied by temporary gusty wind at many places over Rangpur, Mymensingh, and Sylhet divisions, at a few places over Dhaka and Chattogram divisions, and at one or two places over Rajshahi, Khulna, and Barishal divisions with moderately heavy to heavy falls today.
The ongoing heatwave that began on June 1, however, is likely to continue.