Record cold kills 80 in Bangladesh
2013-01-10 10:44
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India knows how to handle a cold winter, but it has rarely been so cold as it is this year. See the pictures.
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Dhaka - A cold snap which saw temperatures drop on Thursday to their lowest
point in Bangladesh's post-independence history has killed around 80 people,
officials said.
The weather office said the lowest temperature was recorded at 3ºC in the
northern town of Syedpur and the Red Crescent said hospitals were packed with
patients suffering respiratory illness.
Shah Alam, deputy head of the weather office, said the last time the
temperature had dropped below 3ºC was in February 1968 when Bangladesh was
still part of Pakistan.
"The temperature is the lowest in Bangladesh's history," he said.
The Red Crescent Society said impoverished rural areas had been worst hit as
many people could not afford warm clothing or heating.
"They are not prepared for such extreme weather. Many could not even go
to work," the society's general-secretary Abu Bakar said.
"According to the reports of our district offices and local
administrations about 80 people have died due to cold-related diseases such as
respiratory problems, pneumonia and cough," Bakar added.
Bangladesh, which is a tropical country, normally sees temperatures fall to
around 10ºC at this time of year.
The weather office said temperatures were expected to rise from Saturday.
- SAPA
