Nepal sends out a cold reception by Alex Deakin
Icy winds from the Himalayas have continued to keep northern India and Bangladesh well within its grips over the last week.
As previously reported, Sunday night’s temperature fell to 0C (32F) in New Delhi, India making it the coldest night in 70 years. This led to a widespread frost, covering cars in ice and the grass in frost.
The cold has had a devastating effect though, killing nine last night, bringing the death toll up to over 200 now for India. Around 142 of those deaths were in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh alone, which borders Nepal where all the cold air has been feeding from.
In Bangladesh the cold air seems to be retreating back northwards, although the death toll here since the cold spells began has reached 50.
Even in Pakistan temperatures have taken a dive with 47 people dying from cold and pneumonia after the week of frigid weather. The region affected by the October earthquake has also suffered from more grief as 18 people were reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to have perished over the last month.
The forecast is for the temperatures to lift for most over the coming days. Dhaka in Bangladesh has minimum temperatures of around 3C at the moment but these are expected to increase to a much milder 10C by Monday.
In Delhi a similar story is expected with a minimum of 10C by Sunday and a maximum of 24C on the Sunday afternoon.
The city of Islamabad in Pakistan will see trend toward milder weather at the weekend, although it could turn a little chillier again next week, but not as cold as it has been.
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