In Dinajpur, the district at the foot of the Himalayas, a sudden blanket of dense fog covered the area today after temperatures had risen a little for a few days. The fog and a biting cold wind have disrupted normal life, and local farmers are deeply worried about their boro seedbeds and potato fields.

According to the Dinajpur weather office, the district's minimum temperature on Friday was 14.5 degrees Celsius. After several days of strong sunshine, dense fog covered everything from Saturday morning. Trains and long-distance vehicles were running with headlights on.

The sudden fog and cold have begun to discolour boro rice seedlings. Moklesur Rahman, a farmer from Gohair village in Shashara union of Sadar upazila, said many farmers were covering their seedbeds with polythene for fear the seedlings would be ruined by the severe cold. And although it is time to transplant, not enough labourers can be found because of the biting cold.

Motiur Rahman, a farmer in Biral upazila, said: "Relief was returning with the sunshine, but with the fog back today we are in trouble over our potato fields. If the fog continues, potatoes and seedbeds could be badly damaged."

Tofazzal Hossain, officer in charge of the weather office, said the fog was likely to lift as the day went on.

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