Met Office forecasts severe heatwaves, cyclones for May after record April rains

Bangladesh may experience two to three days of severe nor’wester storms with rain or thundershowers this May.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has also warned that one to three heatwaves may sweep across the country during the month, with one potentially intensifying into a severe heatwave, reports bdnews24.com.

The forecast was issued on Sunday as part of the Met Office’s long-range weather outlook for May.

Meteorologist AKM Nazmul Hoque said, “Rainfall is likely until May 6 or 7. After that, heatwave conditions may develop over districts in the western and south-western parts of the country.”

“Overall, normal rainfall is expected in May. There may be five to six days of light to moderate rain or thundershowers, accompanied by isolated hailstorms. Of these, two to three days could see severe nor’westers with rain or thunderstorms.”

According to the long-range forecast, one or two low-pressure systems may form over the Bay of Bengal this month, one of which could develop into a depression or cyclonic storm.

Nazmul said a low-pressure area could form over the Bay in the latter half of May and could intensify into a depression.

The BMD expects day and night temperatures to remain near normal throughout the month.

It also said the country’s major rivers are likely to maintain normal flow, although water levels in rivers in the north, north-east and south-east may rise at times due to isolated heavy rainfall.

April Rainfall 75 Percent Above Normal

The BMD said rainfall across Bangladesh in April was 75.7 percent above normal.

Rajshahi Division recorded normal rainfall, while all other divisions received above-normal rainfall.

Although April typically sees rain on eight days, rainfall was recorded on 11 days this year.

Average rainfall for the month is usually 119mm, but this April the country recorded an average of 196mm.

Barishal Division received 169.5 percent more rainfall than normal, followed by Mymensingh Division with 150.9 percent and Sylhet Division with 104.4 percent above average.

Nazmul said the interaction between a western low-pressure system and easterly winds triggered widespread moderate to very heavy rainfall across much of the country from Apr 6 to 9 and again from Apr 26 to 30.

For much of the month, many areas also experienced light to moderate rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms, gusty winds and isolated hailstorms.

“High moisture content in the air, combined with thermal lows in West Bengal and Bihar, pushed water vapour from the Bay of Bengal to create heavy cloud cover over Mymensingh, Sylhet, and Barisal,” he said.