Dense fog has begun to cover the whole country and is very likely to continue until Friday (6 January). The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) has advised farmers what to do at this stage of the rice crop's growth.

After analysing the weather forecast, the institute said moderate to dense fog began spreading over all districts of Dhaka, Khulna and Barishal divisions from Tuesday (3 January). On Wednesday night moderate to dense fog will cover all districts of Rajshahi, Rangpur and Mymensingh divisions, and during the night it will spread to all districts of Sylhet division.

The fog is very likely to last until Friday (6 January). The whole of the Himalayan foothills is covered in fog, which is moving from the north-west to the south-east. The entire blanket is very likely to pass over Bangladesh unless the wind direction changes suddenly, which is very unlikely. Even if the fog ends after Friday and temperatures then rise slowly, cold wind is very likely to blow over Bangladesh until 10 January.

• In fog and severe cold, keep 3-5 centimetres of water in seedbeds, and cover them day and night with a shelter of clear polythene, making sure the polythene does not touch the seedling leaves.
• Mix 70-80 grams of Theovit or Cumulus well in every 10 litres of water and spray it on 4-5 decimals of seedbed.
• Keep seedbeds covered with clear polythene, drain the water in the morning and add fresh water. Shaking off the dew collected on the seedlings every morning protects them from the cold and lets them grow normally.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.