Highest temp, record outages hit life, economic activity

A double jeopardy of the highest temperature and a record power load-shedding made life a misery and slowed economic activity as the mercury heated up to 43 degrees Celsius in Bangladesh on Monday.
As the government opened schools and colleges after a short closure, with hope against hope of a letup in the blistering heat, the High Court took into cognizance appeals for campus closure and issued an order Monday for extending the shutdown until Thursday that will lead to a two-day weekend.
Met forecasts signal rain from early May, and the month starts Thursday.
Amidst one of the warmest summers in Bangladesh, with a blistering heat-wave stalking over the country since early this month of April, Chuadanga got scorched with the second-highest temperature in Bangladesh's history at 43 degrees on the day.
To rub salt into the wound, the country experienced on the day unprecedented power shortages with the load-shedding peaking to around 3200 megawatts. It was rated as the highest record of power cuts in recent times.
As such, a buying binge of electric fans and air-conditioners could bring people little respite from the burning sun and heat in many areas, some rural areas reported hardest hit.
Reports said a number of schoolchildren and schoolteachers swooned amid intolerable heat. A total of 18 people have so far succumbed to heatstroke.
Hospitals are witnessing a rush of patients suffering heat-induced diseases, an FE correspondent reports after spot-checks.
In the capital, Dhaka, the day temperature was 40.3 degrees Celsius.
Previously, on Apr 17 last year, the second-highest temperature in the country was recorded at 43 degrees Celsius in Ishwardi, Pabna. The same temperature was also recorded in 1995 and 2002.
The highest temperature since independence is 45.1 degrees Celsius recorded on May 18, 1972.
A "very severe" heat-wave is sweeping over the districts of Jashore and Rajshahi and a severe heatwave over the remaining parts of Khulna Division and the districts of Tangail, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Naogaon, Pabna and Nilphamari, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
Mild to moderate heatwaves are sweeping over the Barishal Division and the other parts of the Dhaka, Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions and the districts of Mymensingh, Moulvibazar, Rangamati, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni and Bandarban. These are likely to continue.
The day temperatures could rise slightly and night temperatures remain nearly unchanged across the country on Monday, the BMD said.
"Due to the increase in moisture incursion, the discomfort may persist," it said.
Due to the ongoing severe heatwave, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education announced the closure of all government primary schools, child-welfare trust schools, and learning centers under the education bureau until Thursday.
Additionally, educational activities at all institutions below the secondary level and vocational educational institutions in Dhaka, Chuadanga, Jashore, Khulna, and Rajshahi districts were suspended for Monday.
A separate notice from the Education Ministry issued Sunday following consultations with the Health Ministry and the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
However, educational institutions equipped with air-conditioning were allowed to remain open. Despite the ongoing heatwave schools and colleges had initially resumed classes on Sunday after the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday and their subsequent extension due to the heat.
Primary schools conducted classes on Monday since no directive had been issued by the authorities concerned until Sunday night. This reopening came even though there has been no significant relief from the heatwave, raising concerns among parents, particularly those with young children.
Originally, schools and colleges were set to reopen on April 21 after the Eid holidays, but the persistent extreme temperatures prompted authorities to extend the closure until April 27. The Ministry advised parents and guardians to stay informed through official updates as the situation develops.
Meanwhile, officials from the power utilities disclosed that at 2pm on Monday, the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) at the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) reported a record shortfall of 3196 megawatts.
During the peak hours of the day, the country's power generation stood at 12,753 MWs against a demand for 16,200 MWs, resulting in a deficit of 3,447 MWs. This shortfall was anticipated to worsen during the evening peak hours, with demand expected to exceed 17,200 MWs.
The situation on Sunday also saw significant load shedding, with 1864 MWs reported at noon. The highest power generation recently was recorded at 16,233 MWs at 9 pm last Monday (April 22).
However, ongoing load shedding persisted across the country due to the increased electricity demand fueled by the ongoing heatwave.
Rural areas, in particular, have been disproportionately affected. Officials from different power utilities at the rural level argue that the extent of load-shedding is considerably underreported. Interruptions in the rural power supply often go unrecorded, exacerbating the situation for consumers who may face several hours without electricity during both day and night.
According to an official from the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), "Power outages in rural areas are so frequent that any interruption means consumers have to wait several hours to get electricity back."
Official sources indicate that the majority of the load shedding burden is strategically shifted to rural areas to prevent power outages in the capital Dhaka, and other major cities. This policy decision has significantly aggravated the hardships faced by rural populations amid the intense heat.
Moreover, state-owned Petrobangla's latest figures reveal that the country's gas production stands at 3,105 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD), significantly below the demand of about 4000 MMCFD. This gas shortage has led to several power plants, especially those reliant on gas, halting production, further straining the power supply during this critical period.
FE correspondent SM Najmus Sakib reported that rush of patients in hospitals rose in the city as well as other parts of the country.
Salauddin Mahin was visiting the city for the treatment of his wife. Soon he landed in Dhaka on Friday, he felt the odd weather that was waiting for his four-member family.
"My nine month old baby boy shortly got caught with fever and started vomiting since we reached our residence at Mirpur-14 neighborhood. My kid's condition has improved a little after we consulted with a physician," he told the reporter.
Mahin is not alone, so are many other people in the city, including children and adults. The scenario was found on a visit to some city hospitals.
"We have seen a rush even though we couldn't accommodate visiting patients and their attendances at the consultation desk of doctors. The rush was seen since the start of the month," a private hospital's consultation unit at Uttor Badda told the FE, requesting not to be named as he is not designated to talk to the media.
Public health experts also worried that the extreme heat could further deteriorate the situation, especially for children and pregnant mothers. They also criticized government indecision and dilemma on reopening schools in the ongoing heat-wave.
Public health specialist Prof Dr Abu Jamil Faisal feared that running schools in the scorching heat can cause health issues for the children as they are the most vulnerable groups to extreme weather conditions.
More importantly, pregnant mothers have become worst victim of the extreme weather, said the health specialist, adding that so many of them couldn't go to the healthcare centres for regular checkups.
"Pregnant women remain in vulnerable condition as scorching heat keeps them at home as pregnancy causes them to feel more uncomfortable than other groups," he explained.
Dr. Faisal, however, criticized the local government and health ministry for not taking immediate measures to ease the service for the pregnant mothers across the country.
Need special care for children The heat-waves have been sweeping across the country since April 1st while the met office further extended the heat alert for 72 hours commencing from Sunday.
Health specialists strongly suggested fresh and pure drinking water available certainly at schools while some suggest water drinking schedules at schools.
Director of Dhaka Shishu Hospital Prof Dr. Jahangir Alam told the FE that due to heat in April, they mostly see child patients with fever and pneumonia. "Over 100 children are admitted to the specialised hospital every day which has become a concern and matter of study."
All of the 600 beds of the child hospital remained occupied, he added. Working children and other groups are the worst victims as they have to work under open sky, Dr. Alam added.
Icddr,b hospital in the city sees over 500 patients admitted with diarrhea and others every day with 60 per cent of them being children.
Icddr,b hospital director Baharul Alam explained that his hospital is known for disease related to diarrhoea and cholera. But the prevailing heat wave mostly causes heat stroke, fever and kidney related health issues. Outbreaks of diarrhoea peak in May and June, usually in the country.
He, however, termed the number of patients admitted at the hospitals "not unusual" compared to the previous years. "We have been witnessing about 500 people admitted to hospital since March and continued what we usually see during this season," he added.
He suggests that children should not go out in this scorching heat and certainly need to be careful during the journey to and from schools in such temperature.

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