The death toll from a cold wave sweeping Bangladesh has risen to 50 and could increase as poor
weather conditions were expected to last another three to four days.
Local newspapers said at least 30 more people, mostly poor and
homeless, had died in the past 24 hours in the country's
northwestern districts, where temperatures fell to 9° Celsius (48.2° Fahrenheit).
More than 200 people had been hospitalised, officials and
newspapers said.
A thick fog eneveloped much of the country, including the
capital, Dhaka, and the port city of Chittagong on Saturday,
disrupting flights and the movement of ships and ferries,
transport operators said. Buses and trains were moving with caution, they said.
Weather officials said the cold spell would last for three
to four more days.
Some 200 people died from exposure to cold weather this time
last year - also mostly in the north.
The government, opposition political parties and
non-government organisations handed thousands of blankets and
warm clothes to the poor across the country, witnesses said.