Meteorologists said that Bangladesh is experiencing its longest heat wave in recorded history this April with forecasts showing no improvement for the rest of the month.

Two weeks after the country was forced to shut schools and educational institutions for a week due to the scorching heat wave, government meteorologists in Bangladesh say that the country is experiencing its longest heat wave in recorded history this April with forecasts showing no improvement for the rest of the month.

This year, for the first time, nearly three-fourths of the country has experienced continuous heat waves. The Met Office weather forecast said Saturday that a very severe heat wave was sweeping over mid-west, west, and central Bangladesh, while the rest of the country was seeing severe to mild heat waves.

A season-high temperature of 42.7C (108.9F) was recorded in Chuadanga on Friday.

Md. Bazlur Rashid, a meteorologist at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, spoke of heat waves sweeping across the entire country for 27 days straight until Saturday. He ascribed this to climate change.

“According to the data available since 1948, this April has already seen records of heat wave days in a single year,” he added.

Previously, such an extreme heat wave was recorded in 2014 when the country saw 25 days of heat wave.

“Climate change is among the major causes of the extreme weather,” said Rashid, adding that the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka has become a tough place to live in during summer, due to declining greenery and water bodies.

A recent study by the Met Office showed that both the minimum and maximum temperatures in the country are increasing, with the maximum temperature increasing rapidly.

The extreme weather conditions have disrupted people’s lives and livelihoods, especially for low-income groups, in the South Asian nation of 170 million.