Cold air sweeping in from the Himalayas killed at least 17 people across Bangladesh last week, hospital sources and a news report said Sunday. At least 11 elderly people died from Thursday to Saturday in southern Barisal district, where temperatures dipped as low as 8.2 degrees Celsius (46.76 Fahrenheit). Most developed hypothermia or pneumonia from exposure to the cold, said doctors at the Agailjhara Sadar Hospital where eight victims died. Three more deaths were reported in southern Jhalakathi district, two in eastern Jessore, and one in central Kishoreganj, the Bengali-language daily Amar Desh said. The lowest temperature of 5.2 degrees Celsius (41.36 Fahrenheit) _ half the average temperature for this time of year _ was recorded Thursday in Srimangal. No deaths were reported in the area, 160 kilometers (100 miles) northeast of national capital, Dhaka, the Meteorological Department said. But the unusually low temperatures were slightly up Sunday, reaching 9.5 Celsius (49.10 Fahrenheit) in Srimangal and 10.2 Celsius (50.36 Fahrenheit) in Barisal. The cold weather also produced foggy conditions, disrupting road and river traffic across the country. In many areas, the frigid temperatures kept children from school and farmers from working the fields, Amar Desh reported. Last year, a cold spell with temperatures averaging 9 degrees Celsius (48 Fahrenheit) killed nearly 200 people _ mostly children and the elderly _ across Bangladesh.
