Keeping cold wave hazards at bay

Thousands of men, women and children have for some time been passing through miseries amid frosty wind and mist in the country's north and north-west. The 'cold wave', combined with dense fog, has left an adverse impact on Boro seedlings, making farmers and day-labourers suffer badly, according to media reports.
Cold wave is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. It is a rapid fall in temperature within a 24-hour period requiring substantially increased protection to agriculture, industry, commerce, and social activities (U.S. National Weather Service).The precise criterion for a cold wave is determined by the rate at which the temperature falls, and the minimum to which it falls. This minimum temperature is dependent on the geographical region and time of year. Criteria for cold wave:  Severe Cold Wave: 5C deviation from normal for regions where normal temperature is less than 10C.  Cold Wave: Departure of minimum temperature by -3C to -4C from normal where normal minimum temperature is less than 10C.
The location of Bangladesh is  in 20°22'N-26°36'N, 87°48'E-92°41'E.5. It is not a severely cold-prone country. The people are used to having normal winter season, when the average temperature remains 13°C-20°C. But when the temperature falls to a single digit, the cold turns into a disaster-like situation.
Bangladesh has been experiencing 'cold waves' in winter over the last few years. In December and January, the country suffers from cold temperatures. Poor people in the northern part of the country are the worst affected.  
CONSEQUENCES OF COLD WAVES IN BANGLADESH: a) Biting cold, coupled with dense fog, paralyses normal life both in the urban and rural areas in winter (December and January). A cold wave sweeping across the country intensifies sufferings of the poor. Cold waves sometimes claim lives.
b) The poor people, particularly those in the vulnerable regions, are the worst sufferers. They lack sufficient warm clothes. Many people, especially children and the elderly, are affected with various cold-related diseases.
d) Crops, especially potato, wheat, Boro seedlings and vegetables, are vulnerable to prolonged cold waves. Farmers and day-labourers cannot work in the field due to cold.
 (e) Thick fog, together with biting cold, disrupts movement of all modes of transport across the country, causing immense sufferings to passengers.     
The cold wave of January 2013 took more than 72 lives. Most of the dead were children, who suffered from pneumonia, cold diarrhoea, cough, fever, asthma and other cold-related diseases. Due to the incapability to buy warm clothes, the poor and hazard-stricken people struggle to escape from cold bite in the winter season. Many distressed people try to fight the chill with heat coming from burning straw, leaves and old rubber tyres.  Livestock in sheds are covered with sacks.
The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief of Bangladesh, the political parties, humanitarian organisations, NGOs, social organisations, banks and well-off individuals distribute warm clothes and blankets among poor people in different parts of the country to reduce their sufferings. In the winter of 2012-2013, the government and various organisations distributed 731,891 blankets in seven divisions (DMIC report 19.01.2013). It has, however, been observed by media and others that the level of assistance was inadequate.
HOW TO REDUCE HEALTH PROBLEMS: (1) The aged people, mainly the patients of asthma, and children below five years old need special care. Newborn babies need special and appropriate care.
(2) Gargling with hot water by adding a pinch of salt into it, helps in curing the sore throat.
(3) Drinking hot liquids like coffee and tea or simply lukewarm water gives some relief.
(4) Adding turmeric powder, ginger powder and a teaspoon of honey to warm milk for drinking not only helps in curing cough but also relieves one from body-ache, cold and headache.
 (5) For cold, steam inhalation is the best home remedy.
(6) While preparing tea, add a few Tulsi leaves and crushed ginger to it along with black pepper. With this, one will feel relieved of cough and cold-related complications.
(7) Second-hand clothes should be used after  proper washing  to avoid health hazards.
PROTECTING BORO CROPS: The following actions are suggested by relevant professionals to protect Boro seed-beds from winter fog:
1. Cover up the seed-bed with polythene sheets.
2. Clear the dew drops from by pulling a rope.
3. Pour water in the affected seed-beds in the afternoon and remove the water in the next morning.
4. Spray proper quantities of appropriate medicine to destroy fungus.
5. Make replacement with new plants at the place of the affected ones if possible.
6. Take advice from local agriculture officials.
The cold wave that may turn into a disaster, needs to be brought under a special preparedness programme by the authorities concerned. Cold waves might recur with increased ferocity in the coming days due to the negative effect of climate change. It is necessary for the relevant authorities to take stock of the sufferings of the people, particularly in the poverty-stricken areas of the country, during the sweep of a cold wave. Long-term initiatives are needed to reduce the cold wave vulnerability of the poor through improving livelihood, increasing income for making better houses and buying blankets and warm clothes, providing soft loans for buying winter clothes and medicines. A special safety-net programme for the affected people should be planned by the relevant authorities. Inclusion of winter-affected communities in vulnerability and capacity analyses for the development programmes of the government and other agencies could be a durable step for improving their resilience.  
The writer is Senior Programme Officer, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Embassy of Switzerland, Dhaka. The views in the article are the author`s own. Those have no link with his office. farid.hasan2008@gmail.com