Pulling his rickshaw along the sun-baked streets since morning, Monirul Mia searches for passengers under a blazing sky with no sign of rain.
“It feels very hot in the sun. After pulling the rickshaw for a short while, my body gets drenched in sweat. But if I sit idle, there will be no income,” he said.
For rickshaw pullers like Monirul, who spend much of their day under the open sky, the lack of rain eliminates the threat of getting drenched, but the oppressive heat severely elevates the physical strain of their daily work.
As autumn draws to a close, the nation has experienced two consecutive days without rain, with rainfall recorded at only 2 millimetres in Hatiya under the Chattogram division, whilst all other observation stations across the country registered zero.
These rainless days have caused acute distress, particularly across urban life.
Shamima Nouren, an assistant accountant at a private firm who commutes daily from Jatrabari to Farmgate by bus, described the hardship faced by urban commuters.
“When it does not rain, at least there is no hassle of getting soaked. But sitting inside a bus in this heat is extremely painful, especially when stuck in traffic jams where the heat feels even worse,” she remarked.
According to Muhammad Abul Kalam Mallik, an official at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, such discomfort is set to persist for several more days. He said that rainfall tendency will remain low over the coming days, saying that whilst there is a chance of some rain in the Chattogram and Sylhet regions, weather across most parts of the country is expected to remain mostly dry.
Mallik further revealed that rainfall in September was 22 to 23 per cent below normal levels, demonstrating that the dry spell extends beyond just the current week.
Explaining the meteorology behind the dry spell, meteorologist Hafizur Rahman noted that the recent reduction in rainfall stems from the influence of depressions and deep depressions forming in adjacent regions.
He explained that when a deep depression forms in a region, strong wind circulation and flow draw water vapour from surrounding areas towards the centre of the system. Consequently, whilst heavy rain falls at the centre of the atmospheric system, distant areas suffer a sharp drop in precipitation.
Rahman added that unless a major depression or significant atmospheric instability develops, rainfall is unlikely to increase noticeably, though temperatures will remain around current levels without rising further.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department’s five-day forecast indicates that rain is likely in many places across the Chattogram and Sylhet divisions, and in one or two places in the Barishal division on Wednesday.
On Thursday and Friday, rain is expected in many places across the Chattogram and Sylhet divisions, alongside a few places in the Mymensingh, Dhaka, Khulna, and Barishal divisions.
By Saturday in October, precipitation is anticipated in a few places in the Chattogram and Sylhet divisions, and in one or two places across the Rangpur, Khulna, and Barishal divisions.
The Met Office noted that no significant weather changes are expected over the subsequent five days.
During this dry spell, Dhaka recorded a maximum temperature of 36 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 28.1 degrees Celsius.
Under the Bangladesh Meteorological Department classification, temperatures ranging between 36 and 37.9 degrees Celsius are categorised as a mild heatwave.
On Monday, the highest temperature in the country was recorded in Tetulia at 37.6 degrees Celsius.
Although night temperatures across various regions may drop slightly over the next few days, the oppressive sense of heat will continue across much of the country due to limited rainfall.
