Bangladesh

CLIMATE

Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate with heavy summer rain and high summer temperatures. Winters are dry and cool. South and southwest winds dominate from mid-April to mid- October and bring enormous amounts of moisture from the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal: 95 percent of the total rainfall, which averages about eighty inches (2,040 millimeters) occurs during that period. The temperatures range from an average of about .68 F (18C) in January to about 86 F (3OC) in April.

SEASONS

Bangla tradition divides the year into six seasons: Grishmo (summer), Barsha (rainy), Sarat (early autumn), Hemanta (late autumn), Sheet (winter) and Boshonto (the Spring). For practical purposes, however, four seasons are clearly distinguishable: Summer, Rainy, late Autumn and Winter. Rain begins to fall in April with the accompaniment of norwester or Kalbaishakhi. With the onset of monsoon in the first week of June extremely heavy downpour starts, and average temperature falls to low 80F. These heavy rains prevail for about two to three months causing floods and inundation of fields and river banks. The Winter is moderate while the Spring is mellow and pleasant.

PEOPLE

Building upon the firm ethnological roots and an entrepreneurial spirit and innovative skill the people of Bangladesh are creating a special niche for themselves on the global plank. A fascinating land with a variegated history and a rich cultural tapestry, the people are endowed with a native intellect, capacity for hard work and resilience. Bangladeshies are simple in nature, extremely friendly and hospitable. With about 130 million people, Bangladesh ranks as the world's 8th most populous country. It is also one of the most densely populated countries in the world. The staple food of the people is rice, which is generally eaten with fish curry and lentil. Most women in Bangladesh wear a sari, and men, sarongs, locally called 'lungi'. Bangladeshies descended from several racial and sub-racial groups entering South Asia over the past five thousand years. By and large, they are now a single homogenous race with one common language- Bangla, There are, however, several small ethnic groups with their own languages and distinctive cultures. Birth rate in 2000 has come down to 1.5 %, while the percentage of literacy rate is now over 60, the highest in South Asia after Sri Lanka. Life expectancy at birth is now over 60 years (60.8 in the year 2000).