Kurigram has been gripped by dense fog and a biting cold, severely disrupting daily life and pushing homeless and low-income people into acute hardship.
Thick fog has blanketed the district, forcing vehicles to use headlights even during daytime on major roads, while residents said the sun remained unseen from dawn through the afternoon.
The district recorded a minimum temperature of 11.3 degrees Celsius at 6am on Sunday, with humidity at 100 per cent, according to local weather data.
Children, women and elderly people are facing the worst suffering amid several days of persistent cold, with many lacking adequate winter clothing.
Cold-related illnesses such as coughs, colds and respiratory problems are rising, particularly among poor families unable to afford warm clothes.
In more than 400 char areas across the district, the cold has intensified further as dense fog combines with heavy dew falling like rain, leaving day labourers and homeless people in extreme distress.
Accidents are also occurring regularly due to poor visibility caused by dense fog and severe cold.
Municipal rickshaw-auto driver Alam Mia said his daily income has dropped sharply due to the cold, making it difficult to run his family.
“When there was no cold, I used to earn Tk500 to Tk700 a day, but for the past few days my income has fallen because of the cold,” he said.
Kurigram Civil Surgeon Swapan Kumar Biswas said pressure from children and elderly patients suffering from cold-related illnesses has increased at upazila health complexes, while diarrhoea cases are also rising.
He advised families to keep children and elderly people as warm as possible during the cold spell.
Rajarhat Agriculture Weather Observatory Acting Officer Subal Chandra said the minimum temperature stood at 11.4 degrees Celsius on Friday morning, with humidity at 99 per cent.
He said similar weather conditions are likely to persist for the next few days.
District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Abdul Matin said Tk6,00,000 has been allocated to each upazila and 7,000 blankets have been distributed on behalf of the chief adviser to support cold-hit people.
