DHAKA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- A brutal heatwave that is scorching large parts of Bangladesh is expected to continue, the country's meteorological department said on Thursday, as a fourth person has died from suspected heat stroke in the South Asian country over the past four days.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said the heatwave is impacting six of the country's eight divisions, including the capital, Dhaka.

Abdul Hamid, a meteorologist at the Storm Warning Center of the BMD, told Xinhua that there is a possibility of severe to very severe heatwaves later this month with maximum temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the country.

In Dhaka, the temperature rose to 36.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

Due to increasing moisture incursions, he said the discomfort may increase in the South Asian country, which sits on a massive river delta.

In recent years, natural disasters like floods and heatwaves induced by extreme weather owing to climate change have caused more frequent disasters than usual in the country of some 170 million people.

Experts said the heatwaves would likely become more intense in the coming years due to erratic rainfall and high temperatures, posing a threat to Bangladesh, one of the biggest victims of global warming. ■