Minister of Water Supply Susil Ranasinghe says the current water levels in the Labugama and Kalatuwawa reservoirs are adequate to ensure uninterrupted supply for the next three months, even if no rainfall is received during that period.

Speaking to the media, the Minister noted that while forecasts under El Niño conditions suggest drier‑than‑expected weather in August and September, experts from the Water Supply Board have confirmed that the reservoirs’ present capacity is sufficient to meet demand.

He added that no decision has been taken on imposing water cuts, and authorities expect no risk within the next two months.

However, Ranasinghe cautioned that changing weather patterns could alter the situation. (Newswire)

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Minister of Environment Dammika Patabendi has warned that the El Niño condition has now developed severely and could reach its peak stage in Sri Lanka earlier than expected, possibly by November.

Speaking at a media briefing to raise awareness of the phenomenon’s impact, the Minister said Sri Lanka may face severe dry weather during July, August, and September, followed by heavy rainfall in October, November, and December. 

He stressed that state institutions are already taking strong measures to confront the situation, which he described as a global environmental challenge rather than one confined to Sri Lanka.

The Minister emphasized the importance of public cooperation, warning of the possibility of a severe drought. 

He urged citizens to use both energy and water sparingly, noting that the El Niño impact could lead to job losses, economic setbacks, and even deterioration of public health.

Meanwhile, Director General of the Department of Meteorology Ajith Wijemanna stated that the El Niño condition could reach a very strong level. 

He explained that while the phenomenon had previously remained weak globally, it has now developed to a moderate stage and is intensifying.

Wijemanna noted that El Niño typically lasts for 10–12 months and could bring both drought and heavy rainfall in the coming days. 

He said rainfall is expected to increase in districts such as Western, Sabaragamuwa, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Galle, and Matara, while other regions may experience dry conditions and rising temperatures.

By late September, some rainfall is expected, with heavier rains likely from October onwards. 

The Meteorology Department also cautioned that flood conditions could arise during the final months of the year. (Newswire)

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The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the establishment of a special ministerial sub‑committee and an official committee to coordinate Sri Lanka’s national response to the anticipated El Niño climatic phenomenon.

Sri Lanka, highly vulnerable to climate variability, faces heightened risks of altered rainfall patterns, extreme heat, droughts, and floods due to El Niño, with potential adverse effects across economic and social sectors. 

Scientific forecasts indicate that impacts could emerge from the latter part of this year, prompting the government to act swiftly.

According to the government, the national‑level programme will strengthen coordination among state institutions, local authorities, NGOs, the private sector, and community organizations. 

Key measures include preparing short‑, medium‑, and long‑term plans to manage possible water, electricity, and food crises, ensuring integrated operations among agencies, and raising public awareness to minimize disaster risks.

The Ministerial Sub‑Committee will be chaired by Environment Minister Dammika Patabendi and include Agriculture Minister K.D. Lal Kantha, Plantation and Rural Infrastructure Minister Samantha Vidyaratne, Ports, Civil Aviation and Energy Minister Anura Karunatilake, Trade and Food Security Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, and Housing and Water Supply Minister Susil Ranasinghe.

Supporting them, an Official Committee chaired by the Secretary to the President brings together secretaries of key ministries, the Director Generals of Irrigation, Agriculture, Wildlife Conservation, Meteorology, Disaster Management, and the Mahaweli Authority, along with heads of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, National Disaster Relief Services Centre, and Electricity Generation Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.

The coordinated framework is designed to mitigate El Niño’s potential impact on vital resources and safeguard communities through proactive planning and rapid response. (Newswire)

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Leading expert in climate change and meteorology, Dr. Ranjith Punyawardena, delivered a comprehensive awareness session on the impending El Niño phenomenon, during a special discussion held at the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, on Wednesday (10). 

Outlining the potential risks of the El Niño phenomenon and the precautionary measures needed to mitigate its impact, his presentation emphasized the importance of preparedness in safeguarding communities and industries against climate‑related challenges.

The session focused on how El Niño could affect Sri Lanka’s plantation industry and the plantation community. 

Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Samantha Vidyarathna said that primary focus was directed toward safeguarding the livelihoods of the plantation community while maintaining national production targets, and specifically minimizing the potential impacts on vulnerable families.

He further said extensive discussions were also held on soil and water conservation, promoting micro-irrigation technology, providing timely weather updates to farmers, capacity building of field officers, and implementing modern technological solutions.

“We remain fully committed to driving our country’s plantation industry forward resiliently, even amidst climatic challenges, and taking all necessary steps for the well-being of the plantation community,” he said in a statement. (Newswire)

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El Niño has formed in the Pacific Ocean and is expected to intensify in the coming months, meteorologists say.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or NOAA) on Thursday officially confirmed the arrival of El Niño, a prolonged period of warming sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific, which affects weather patterns across the globe.

For months, weather officials had been warning that a strong El Niño would almost certainly develop this year, driven by warm ocean waters near the equator.

What’s less certain is how strong this year’s El Niño will be. According to NOAA, there is a 63% chance between November 2026 and January 2027 of sea surface temperatures exceeding 2°C (or 3.6°F) above their historical averages — which forecasters would consider a very strong or “super” El Niño.

Such an event could saddle the southern half of the United States with a much cooler and wetter winter and ultimately fuel what could turn out to be the hottest year on record.

“El Niño conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said.

Here’s what El Niño is — and how its rare “super” variant could wreak havoc.

Explaining El Niño

Normally, Pacific trade winds blow west across the equator, carrying warm South American water toward Asia. Cold water then “upwells” from the depths to replace the warmer surface water that’s been pushed away.

El Niño is a natural climate cycle that disrupts this pattern. It’s triggered by weaker-than-usual trade winds — winds that end up allowing much of that warm water to flow back toward the west coast of the Americas.

Ultimately, that warmer water forces the Pacific jet stream — a high-altitude air current that acts as a 7,000-mile “conveyor belt” pushing storms east across the Pacific toward North America — to move south of its usual path, altering weather patterns across the U.S. and the globe.

La Niña is the exact opposite: stronger trade winds, colder water and a Pacific jet stream that moves north rather than south.

El Niño and La Niña happen roughly every two to seven years and last nine to 12 months. El Niño generally arises more frequently than La Niña.

Weak, strong or ‘super?’

Meteorologists measure the strength of El Niño by how much the water temperature rises above average in a patch of the equatorial Pacific. The threshold for a weak El Niño is 0.5°C (0.9°F). The temperature is now just above that mark.

But to become a very strong or “super El Niño,” the equatorial Pacific would ultimately need to heat up by 2°C (or 3.6°F). That’s a lot less common.

If a “super El Niño” develops in 2026, it would be the first since 2015-2016 — one of the strongest on record, according to NOAA. Others occurred in 1997-1998, 1982-1983 and 1972-1973.

How would a ‘super El Niño’ affect the weather?

It’s hard to say exactly. The 2015-2016 “super El Niño,” for example, didn’t deliver a wetter-than-average winter in Southern California — one of its typical trademarks. At the same time, climate change has made what we know about previous El Niños less helpful for informing what could come next, because the ocean is already significantly warmer today than it was back then.

But some effects are relatively predictable.

In early May, NOAA said it’s “very likely” 2026 will be one of the five hottest years on record. That’s without accounting for El Niño’s warming impact. A “super El Niño” could make 2026 or 2027 the hottest year on record, displacing 2024.

Stronger El Niños also tend to flip the usual hurricane season equation, suppressing storms in the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic while amplifying them in the central and eastern Pacific. More tropical threats to Hawaii and the Southwest U.S. are a possibility.

Extremes of wetness and dryness — and heat and cold — are possible as well. Winter tends to get warmer in the northern half of North America and cooler and wetter in the southern half, especially in the Southeast and along the Gulf Coast. Elsewhere, drought could afflict the Caribbean, while India and Southeast Asia might see fewer summer monsoons.

The economic impact of these changes could be massive. According to a 2023 study published in the journal Science, the 1982-83 El Niño led to $4.1 trillion in global income losses, and its 1997-98 successor cut global income by $5.7 trillion.

Either way, “stronger El Niño events do not ensure strong impacts; they can only make certain impacts more likely,” Michelle L’Heureux, a physical scientist at NOAA, told USA Today. “There is still enough uncertainty that seeing a weaker outcome would not be a surprise.” (YahooNews)

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A high‑level discussion on the possible impact of the forthcoming El Niño condition and institutional plans to mitigate its effects was held this morning (11) at the Presidential Secretariat under the leadership of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The meeting brought together representatives from the Department of Meteorology, Department of Irrigation, Central Environmental Authority, Mahaweli Authority, Disaster Management Centre, Lanka Electricity Company and the National System Operator, among others.

Officials examined how El Niño could affect food security, drinking water and energy supplies, and discussed urgent measures to manage these sectors. Attention was given to reservoir water capacity, agriculture, drinking water distribution and energy management.

It was noted that the expected El Niño situation may resemble the conditions of 2016–2017, with water management plans already adjusted accordingly. Steps have been taken to commence the Yala cultivation season about one and a half months earlier this year to mitigate risks.

The President instructed officials to prepare plans ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply, safeguarding food security and providing adequate water for agriculture and drinking needs. 

He further stressed that, as with challenges faced during Cyclone Ditwah and the Middle East conflict, this global climate challenge too can be managed through proper planning.

Senior officials including Presidential Secretary Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Senior Additional Secretary Kapila Janaka Bandara, and heads of key agencies participated in the discussion. (Newswire)

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The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has warned that even distributing purified seawater to meet drinking water needs may become necessary if the forecasted El Niño anomaly impacts Sri Lanka as predicted.

At a media briefing on Wednesday (10), Additional Secretary K.G.B. Dharmatilaka said the expected El Niño condition could be severe at an unprecedented level, posing risks of depletion of the country’s main water sources. 

He stressed the urgent need for preparedness, noting that the National Disaster Services Centre has only a limited number of water bowsers available for emergency distribution.

Dharmatilaka cautioned that existing resources may be insufficient if prolonged drought sets in. “This El Niño condition could dry up water sources, leaving no sources to obtain water. I think we may even have to consider purifying and distributing seawater,” he added. 

Meanwhile, the United Nations Meteorological Agency has already warned of the possibility of the strongest El Niño condition in a decade. #

Sri Lanka’s Department of Meteorology has also said the country could face drought conditions in July-August as a result, with rainfall expected to decline sharply.

Officials said there could be issues related to the supply of drinking water and agricultural activities. 

“However, an increase in rainfall could be expected in October and November. There is a possibility of tornadoes and heavy rains. Then again, we can expect warm weather from January to April,” they said. 

El Niño, a natural phenomenon caused by higher‑than‑normal sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, disrupts global weather patterns and often reduces rainfall in regions such as Sri Lanka, India, and Australia, leading to severe droughts. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka’s Food Policy and Security Committee has turned its focus to preparing for the potential impacts of the global El Niño phenomenon, with ministers stressing the need for contingency planning to safeguard agriculture and water supplies.

The committee met yesterday (08) at the Presidential Secretariat under the co‑chairmanship of Agriculture Minister K.D. Lal Kantha and Trade and Food Security Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe. 

Particular attention was given to the possible effects of El Niño on the agricultural sector. Discussions also focused on the need to ensure adequate water storage in reservoirs for the forthcoming Yala season and to safeguard drinking water supplies. Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe instructed officials to obtain the views and recommendations of the relevant institutions on these matters. 

It was further decided to convene a special meeting of the Food Policy and Security Committee in the near future to continue discussions on the issue. 

Relevant line agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, the Mahaweli Authority and the Department of Irrigation, were instructed to prepare and submit comprehensive plans outlining measures to address the potential impacts of the El Niño phenomenon. 

The Ministers noted that, just as the country had successfully managed challenges arising from Cyclone Ditwah and the conflict situation in the Middle East, plans were already in place to effectively manage this potential global challenge. They emphasised that the Government was giving special attention to the matter. 

Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe further pointed out that natural disasters cannot be predicted with certainty and stressed the importance of developing contingency plans in advance to respond effectively to any eventuality. (Newswire)

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