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30-04-2024
DHAKA: Schools in Bangladesh reopened on Sunday despite a heatwave continuing to sweep the South Asian nation, with temperatures expected to climb above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in the days ahead, according to the weather department.
Schools that had closed last week reopened on what is the first day of the week in Bangladesh, despite the latest 72-hour heat alert being extended until April 30.
Due to the recent holidays to mark Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, students received extended leave, including for the heat alert, leading schools to worry about students’ preparations for year-end exams.
“Our academic activities are being hampered due to this long break including Ramadan and Eid holidays. This is the time for academic studies for final exams at the end of the year,” Bornali Hossain, principal of Meherunnesa Girls’ School, told media.
“We will try our best to catch up till the government provides the next directive.”
Daily assemblies will not be held until further notice, and the portion of class activities held outside the classroom and exposed to sunlight will be limited, the education ministry said.
Parents still worried about the health of their children, however.
“The weather is unbearable. What will happen if my daughter gets sick?” asked Sumana Ahmed, the mother of a six-year-old.
Scientists say climate change is contributing to more frequent, severe and longer heatwaves during the summer months.
The authorities have been encouraging residents to stay indoors and drink water.
“My home is far. My younger daughter’s class breaks early, but the elder one is still in school. Both of our two-way journeys by buses are tiresome due to the unbearable heatwave,” said Kamrun Nahar, a mother of two students.
Millions of Bangladeshis are currently suffering from a punishing heatwave, with temperatures unceasingly hovering around 40 degrees Celsius. The temperatures are significantly higher than the country’s average maximum of 33 degrees during April. The severe heatwave in Bangladesh has forced school closures, disrupted agriculture, and heightened the risk of heat stroke and other health complications.
Arguably, the prevailing severe heatwave in Bangladesh highlights concerns as climate change is spinning out of control. Heatwaves are one of the most dangerous manifestations of climate change. It has thrown out any sense that heat vulnerability follows a pattern limited to peak summer months. The deadly heatwaves would have been all but impossible without climate change. Instead, changing climatic patterns are accelerating the intensity, duration, and severity of heatwaves. Besides, Bangladesh’s geographical location in the tropical region amplifies the effects of climate change.
Although the country contributes only a tiny fraction of global carbon emissions 0.56 percent, by one count it is suffering disproportionately from their effects. Historical data reveals that the average daytime temperatures in Dhaka rose by approximately 2.75 degrees over the past two decades. This increase is much higher than the global average of around 1.2 degrees and already above the Paris Agreement’s elusive goal of keeping the warming below 1.5 degrees. Experts predict that temperatures in Bangladesh will rise even more in the coming decades.
The primary reason for record heatwaves is a heat dome, which is a self-reinforcing, sprawling area of a persistent and strong high-pressure system that traps hot air in the upper atmosphere. (Int’l News Desk)
