C T Online Desk: A brutal heat wave continued to bake vast swathes of Bangladesh for the 11th straight day on Friday, with forecasts of the rare weather condition in July, the wettest of all months, persisting a few more days.

Meteorologists said that heat waves in July usually last a few days, broken by widespread heavy rain, and could not recollect the incidence of a July heat wave lasting for over a week in recent time.

‘The past two memorable July heat waves were recorded in 2014 and 2021 but with far less coverage area and intensity,’ senior meteorologist Abdul Mannan told New Age.

The maximum temperature may not increase much from where it is now but is likely to stay there for at least the next two days, he said.

Weather models used in the Prague-based weather forecasting service Windy.com indicate that the heat wave may continue through the next week.

After 11 days since the heat wave set in on July 5, the country’s highest maximum daily temperature of 39C was recorded in Syedpur on Friday with three northern divisions and parts of central, southern and south-western regions burning under the scorching sun.

The sky remained brilliantly clear almost all over the country with tiny patches of white clouds floating against the amazing blue sky, a sight rare for such a long period of time during monsoon, particularly in July.

‘The monsoon axis seemed to have shifted southward towards the Indian territory,’ said Mannan, explaining the lack of rain, confident about July remaining rain deficient.

The heat wave occurred amid a serious energy crisis causing frequent power outrages countrywide, testing the resolve of thousands of city dwellers, who had travelled to the countryside for celebrating Eid-ul-Azha, leaving behind the comfort of air conditioning.

With regular business starting in full swing from next week, hospitals in Dhaka feared a potential spike in the number of fever, cold, stroke and diarrhoea patients.

‘We fear an influx of diarrhoea and cold disease patients after office starts next Sunday,’ said Md Jahangir Alam, director of Dhaka Shishu Hospital.

Authorities at the icddr,b reported a normal flow of patients until Friday but feared that there might be an increase in the number if the heat wave continued amid people returning to Dhaka after Eid vacation.

The scorching temperature, health experts said, would force hundreds of thousands of people in Dhaka, who lack access to drinking water, to increase their water consumption.

The lives of hundreds of thousands of people, whose livelihoods depend on outdoor activities, may be at risk if the government could not make drinking water available and make them aware of the risks borne by long stay under the sun, experts said.

‘Human body may malfunction above 33C, for the temperature affects the functioning of enzymes in body cells,’ said health expert Be-Nazir Ahmed.

The malfunctioning may result in fatal heat strokes, he said, advising people to take shelter under shades whenever possible and carry umbrellas and drinking water.

It is typical of children, he said, to catch a cold during summer from relentless sweating.

‘Cold compromises immunity as well making the human body vulnerable to many diseases,’ said Be-Nazir.

While people of all ages are vulnerable to influenza during summer, he said, children, particularly below 5 years, could contract summer diarrhoea as well.

‘Foods must be cooked well and preserved in refrigerators all the time for high temperatures could easily rot them,’ said Be-Nazir.

Health experts usually advise people relying on outdoor activities for their livelihoods to start their day earlier and reduce their stay under the sun.

Fever has already hit households in the countryside hard with multiple members from the same family taken to sick beds, leaving medicine shops running short on fever drug supplies.

‘I was supplied only 10 bottles of napa syrup though I ordered 10 cartons,’ said Ripon Kumar Rajbangshi, a medicine shop owner of Mirzapur, Tangail.

People in Mirzapur also complained about a short supply of thermometers.

‘My two sons – 5 years and 5 months – are down with high fever for three days now. Their body temperatures rarely came below 101C,’ said Erfan Hossain, a resident of Mirzapur, who was also suffering from fever.

Heat waves in Bangladesh are particularly dangerous because of the high moisture in the air. High moisture obstructs the natural cooling system of the body.

On Friday, the moisture content in the air was measured at 69 per cent at 6:00 pm.

A heat wave occurs when the daily maximum temperature tops 36C over a large area and it is classified into three categories based on temperature – mild, moderate and severe.

Currently a mild to a moderate heat wave is sweeping over Bangladesh.

On Friday, the heat wave seared through the entire divisions of Rajshahi and Rangpur and the districts of Tangail, Sylhet and Chuadanga, according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

Dhaka recorded its maximum daily temperature at 35.4C.

A World Bank report released in 2021 said that intense temperature could also lead to heat cramps, heat exhaustion and reduced productivity.

In 2019, the WB report said, heat stress caused an estimated loss of 148 work hours per person, which means 18.2 billion work hours were lost in total in the year, compared to 13.3 billion work hours lost in 2013.

The fact that the globe is warming faster than predicted is no more debated and the UN described 2021 as the seventh hottest year on record.

The California-based non-profit research organisation Berkeley Earth in its annual global temperature report for 2021 placed Bangladesh among the 25 countries, which recorded their highest-ever temperature in the year since record-keeping began.

The year was 1.3C hotter than the average normal temperature, the Berkeley Earth said.