Cold, dense fog disrupt daily life

A shivering cold coupled with dense fog yesterday disrupted daily life across the country, particularly for people from low-income groups.

In Dhaka, residents experienced severe cold, with low-income and homeless people bearing the brunt.

"We are homeless and have been living on the streets, but it is difficult to sleep at night due to the severe cold," said Rahman Miah, who lives in the Palashi area.

In Rajshahi, the intensity of the cold increased sharply, with the district recording the country's lowest temperature of the current season at 10.2 degrees Celsius yesterday morning, said Rajshahi Meteorological Office assistant Tarek Aziz.

He warned that the temperature may drop further over the next few days, intensifying the cold spell.

Due to dense fog, vehicles were seen moving cautiously on roads with fog lights turned on.

Low- and middle-income people, particularly daily wage earners, faced severe hardship as they were forced to go to work early in the morning amid the fog and cold to sustain their livelihoods.

"Driving in this weather is very hard, but we still have to go out every day to earn a living," said Mohammad Yusuf, an auto-rickshaw driver in Rajshahi city.

Rafiqul Islam, a tea-stall owner at the city's Talaimari intersection, said the weather had turned noticeably harsher compared to previous days. "Very few people came out in the morning. Working outdoors in this cold is very difficult," he said.

A similar situation has been prevailing in other northern districts.

"It's unbearably cold, so I opted to stay indoors. If I go out in this weather, I will fall ill. However, now I have to borrow money from others just to buy rice and lentils," said Kandri Bala, a female day labourer from Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila.

Farmer Makbul Hossain, 55, of Phulbari upazila in Kurigram, said it was difficult to work on farmland amid such severe cold.

"Moderate to thick fog may occur at places over the country from midnight till morning and it may continue till noon (Friday) at places," said a bulletin of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

"Air navigation, inland river transport and road communication may disrupt temporarily due to thick fog," said the BMD forecast for the next 24 hours, issued at 6:00pm yesterday.

"Night temperature may fall slightly, and day temperature may remain nearly unchanged across the country. Due to foggy conditions, cold may be felt more intensely at many places across the country," it added.

[Our correspondents from Rajshahi and Lalmonirhat contributed to the report