Record rainfall in Tentulia, a sign of winter's arrival

Tentulia in Panchagarh, the northernmost district of the country, has recorded 137 millimeters of rainfall in the last 24 hours due to the influence of monsoon winds. At the same time, due to its location near the Himalayas, the Tentulia Meteorological Office recorded a temperature of 23.2 degrees Celsius at 9 am on Saturday (November 1), which is the lowest in the entire country, the Meteorological Department said. Due to continuous rainfall, local public life has been disrupted. Waterlogging in the city and surrounding low-lying areas has disrupted road communication, shops have been forced to remain closed and people are facing extreme suffering.

According to sources at the Tentulia Meteorological Office, 101 millimeters of rainfall has been recorded in the last 24 hours till 9 am. Earlier, 83 millimeters of rain fell in Tentulia on Friday (October 31). It is expected that this rainfall may continue for the next two to three days. Jitendranath Roy, the office's officer-in-charge, said that there is heavy rainfall in the northern part of the country, but there will be no major change in the day and night temperatures across the country. The humidity has reached 99 percent, which is making the feeling of winter even more intense.

The effects of winter have been felt in North Bengal since the beginning of November. The Meteorological Office said that after the rainfall, if the humidity in the air decreases, the temperature will drop further, resulting in an increase in the level of winter in the northern part. According to the weather forecast, light to moderate rain or thundershowers with temporary gusty winds are likely in most places in Rangpur, Rajshahi and Mymensingh divisions and in some areas of Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions. Along with this, moderate to heavy rainfall is likely to occur in some places in Rangpur, Rajshahi and Mymensingh divisions, the Meteorological Department said.

Various roads in Tentulia upazila have been submerged in mud and water due to incessant rainfall. Locals said that shops had to be closed due to continuous rain from morning to afternoon and there was a shortage of food for livestock in many areas. Local resident Rafiqul Islam said, “We have never seen such heavy rain before. It has become difficult to leave the house. However, everyone is expecting the winter to get worse after the rain.”

According to meteorologists, even though the monsoon is gradually weakening, the effect of the rain may remain in the northern region for a few more days. As a result, it is expected that the weather will be cold and damp throughout the first week of November. On the one hand, the continuous rain and low temperature in Tentulia are disrupting public life, on the other hand, they are giving an early warning of the winter season. Experts say that the onset of winter will be clearly felt in the northern region in the first week of November.