Meteorologists have made a forecast that cold waves are likely to lash the Terai plains from mid-December which are expected to remain till mid-January. The weather forecast has come a week before the expected arrival of the severe cold spell and this time should be used for anti-cold wave preparedness. A stich in time saves nine, as the saying goes and the caution, preparedness and emergency measures we plan in advance can go a long way in saving precious lives and preventing serious illnesses related to cold. We often tend to be responsive only after things have gotten serious and by that time, it may be too late to act.

The bell of alarm sounded by experts should be taken seriously and appropriate precautionary measures taken on time. Cold waves are the phenomena occurring almost every winter along the Terai plains and people lose lives and fall ill in absence of warm clothes, fuels to heat homes and medical facilities after getting ill. While small measures could save lives, negligence and lack of preparedness can prove costly. In this regard, the government should approach the Terai communities with precautionary awareness programmes. Schools can be a right place to spread relevant messages.

Cases of pneumonia, asthma, flu, bronchitis and cold fever increase during prolonged cold spell. In the Terai plains, thick fogs and clouds can continue for days and sometimes weeks. Weak, ill, aged and poor people fall easy victims as they are ill equipped to cope with the risks of cold. It is often too late when medics, para-medics and medicines arrive in the affected communities. As the Terai plains are in the grip of heat for most of the time of the year, people here pay little thought to arrange warm clothes and beddings. Houses are also not generally designed to fend people from cold. This exacerbates the risks during chilly weather. Fuel-wood fires lit in the open is a popular strategy to keep warm during cold waves.

Recent years and decades have been witnessing longer and more severe cold waves in 23 districts of the Terai belt. Caught unprepared, people lose lives and suffer from cold related illnesses. People from poor and backward communities are more vulnerable as they have poor awareness, education and inadequate resources to keep warm and fight the killer cold. During cold wave threats, people seem not to be getting state help than some firewood provided by the army or the police. Tormented by inundation during rainy season, people in the Terai face threat of chill in winter. Add to that the perils of snakebites and one can imagine the scale of misery. This calls for serious attention of the government at central, state and local levels.
Duration of cold waves is reported to have been increasing over the decades. In the early Nineties, such chill spells lasted only for a few hours or a few days. But after 1997, lengths of cold waves rose considerably. Cold waves look like a natural phenomenon but experts do not agree with such assumption. They said that this trend has to do something with human activities. One expert said that irrigation expansion in the plains has contributed to wider land dampness in winter and continuous rising of fog.