Bangladesh: The record cold wave killed 80 people

A record cold in Bangladesh has killed about 80 people. Bangdalesh's meteorological forecasting agency said the temperature had reached a low point in the country's history, when there was only 3 degrees Celsius in Syedpur town.

The Red Cross organization in Bangladesh said hospitals in Bangladesh had been filled with patients for the past 24 hours because of weather-related diseases.

Shah Alam, deputy director of Bangdalesh's meteorological forecasting agency, said the last time the temperature in the country fell so low was in February 1968, but Bangladesh was still part of Pakistan. This is the lowest temperature in Bangladesh history.

The Red Cross organization said that rural areas are poor most affected when people here do not have enough warm clothes and other measures to avoid cold.

Abu Bakar, secretary general of the Red Cross, said: " People don't have this kind of weather prepared. Many people can't go to work. According to statistics, about 80 people have killed by cold-related diseases ".

Bangladesh, a tropical country, usually has a temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius at this time of year.