The country's lowest temperature Saturday dropped to the season's lowest of 6.1 degrees Celsius at Tentulia, exposing the poor, elderly people and children to intense misery there as elsewhere across the northern region.
The sky remained covered behind thick layers of fog and clouds amid blowing cooler winds causing bone-chilling cold forcing people to remain indoors and farm-labourers could not go to crop fields to conduct their normal works till noon.
As the visibility range reduced to the minimum due to the reasons, vehicular traffic remained affected forcing drivers to drive vehicles putting head-lights on to avert accidents on the roads and highways.
The Met Office sources said the mercury level sharply dropped to 6.1 degrees Celsius at Tentulia against Friday's lowest of 8.3 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours ending at 9 am Saturday, further deteriorating the weather.
Besides, the minimum temperatures recorded Saturday were 11 degrees Celsius at Rangpur, 9 degrees Celsius at Dinajpur, 8.8 degrees at Saidpur, 8.7 degrees Celsius at Dimla and 9.8 degrees Celsius at Rajarhat monitoring points in the region.
However, the situation marked a little improvement with the appearance of the sun at noon in most areas of the region penetrating thick layers of fog and clouds.
Divisional Director (Health) Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman said doctors continued to treat a higher number of people with cough, fever, asthma and other cold-related diseases at the health facilities in the region today like in recent days.
"We have adequate stock of medicines in hospitals and other health facilities and special steps were taken at the government-run health facilities to treat cold-related patients, including babies and children," he added.
Officials at hospitals, upazila health complexes and community clinics said the number of patients with cough, fever; asthma and other cold- related diseases continued increasing today like in the previous few days.
Additional Divisional Commissioner (General) Md. Abu Jafar told BSS that distribution of warm clothes continues in full swing to cold-stricken people in all eight districts of Rangpur division.
"The government has sanctioned huge blankets for distribution to cold-hit people of Nilphamari, Rangpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts in the region," he said.
Besides, the government has allocated money for all eight districts in the division to purchase warm clothes locally and distribute those among cold-hit people.
Meanwhile, different voluntary, professional, sociocultural and charitable organizations, trade bodies and other institutions are extending their hands in distributing warm clothes to cold-stricken people to mitigate their sufferings in the region.
Additional Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension for Rangpur region Agriculturist Mohammad Shah Alam said the sweeping cold wave might affect normal growth of different Rabi crop plants if the situation further deteriorates.
"Field level agriculture officers are extending assistance to farmers in taking proper care of Rabi crop plants and Boro rice seedlings to save those from cold injuries in Rangpur region," he added.
Reports reaching here from remote and char villages in Kurigram, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Rangpur and Nilphamari districts said that normal life remained severely affected till noon Satruday.
