"The whole country is likely to witness at least two to three cold waves ranging from mild to moderate level during this winter," said Deputy Director of Dhaka Met Office Arjumand Habib.

The country's northern and central parts will witness mild to moderate cold waves while mild cold spell will sweep over other parts of the country, met office sources said.

The night temperature will fluctuate between six to ten degrees Celsius at the northern region and the central part of the country while the temperature will remain between eight to ten degrees Celsius in other parts of the country, said Duty Forecasting Officer Sadequl Islam.

This year the wintry weather is likely to arrive earlier and the people of northern regions and rural areas are already feeling the intensity of cold.

The country's lowest temperature recorded yesterday was 12.5 degrees Celsius at Srimongol followed by 13.2 degrees at Dinajpur, 14.4 degrees at Syedpur, 14.4 degrees at Khepupara, and 14.6 degrees at Jesssore while the country's highest temperature was 30.2 degrees at Cox's Bazar.

The lowest-ever temperature recorded at Dhaka Met Office was 2.8 degrees Celsius at Srimongol in 1968.

Three kinds of cold waves -- mild with eight to ten degrees, moderate with six to eight degree, and severe with below six degrees Celsius temperature, sweep across the country from December to mid-February, said an weather expert.