An amber-level warm weather advisory has been issued for Tuesday, with the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre warning of increased heat in several parts of the country.
The advisory was issued at 4.00 p.m. on Monday and applies to residents of the Eastern and North Central provinces and the Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Monaragala districts, Ada Derana reported. The Centre said the heat index — the temperature as it is felt on the human body — could rise to the “Caution” level in some areas during the daytime.
The public has been urged to remain cautious during the hottest hours, to drink sufficient water, reduce strenuous outdoor activity and avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. The advisory calls for particular attention to children, elderly people and those working outdoors, who are more vulnerable to excessive heat.
A slightly smaller warning area
Tuesday’s advisory covers less ground than the one issued the day before. Monday’s advisory named the same two provinces but added five districts — Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Monaragala. Jaffna and Kilinochchi have now dropped off the list, leaving three.
The reduction is confined to the far north. The Eastern and North Central provinces have appeared in every advisory of the current run, and Monaragala — one of the seven districts the Disaster Management Centre lists as worst affected by the dry spell — remains on it.
Amber is the lower of the warning levels the Centre uses, indicating conditions that warrant caution rather than the higher-tier alert reserved for dangerous heat. The advisory is a next-day forecast built from relative humidity and projected maximum temperature, and is not a forecast of the air temperature itself.
The warning sits alongside showers forecast for the south-west on the same day — a split that has become the pattern of this dry season, with rain returning to the wet zone while the east and north-central dry zone stay hot.
