Rain, at last, in some parts of Dhaka

After a month-long severe heatwave, Dhaka experienced rain and thundershowers in parts of the capital last night.

There were reports of rain in Mirpur, Karwan Bazar, Kamalapur, Uttara, Agargaon, Gulshan, Banani, Niketan, Khilgaon, and Nakhalpara, among other areas, Monowar Hossain, a meteorologist at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told The Daily Star.

According to the BMD, the average maximum temperature in April was 36.2 degrees Celsius, three degrees more than the average April temperatures recorded in 76 years.

The country has already experienced the longest heatwave ever.

Not only the hottest, but this April was the driest in 43 years. The average rainfall in Bangladesh was one millimetre last month.

According to the BMD, the average rainfall in April is 134mm.

"It was the driest month in the country since 1981," Abul Kalam Mollik, a meteorologist at the BMD, told The Daily Star.

BMD officials and experts said May could bring some relief. There might be rain and the heatwave spells usually seen during this month would be much shorter, albeit slightly humid.

"There will be rain and thundershowers from May 2 to May 8. After that, temperature may rise and there might be two to three mild heatwaves and one to two severe heatwaves in May," said meteorologist Mollik.