Nuwara Eliya recorded Sri Lanka’s lowest minimum temperature on Wednesday at 14.6°C, according to the Department of Meteorology’s daily temperature report, Daily Mirror reported.
The central highlands were markedly cooler than the rest of the island. Bandarawela recorded 19.4°C, Badulla 21.7°C and Katugastota 22.8°C.
Polonnaruwa posted the island’s highest minimum at 27.5°C. Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Puttalam each recorded 27.2°C, Trincomalee and Rathmalana 27.1°C, and Mannar 27.0°C.
Colombo recorded 26.8°C, Anuradhapura 26.7°C, Batticaloa 26.5°C, Vavuniya 26.4°C and Katunayake 26.2°C. Other readings included Pothuvil 25.6°C, Mattala 25.4°C, Maha Illuppallama 25.2°C, Monaragala 25.1°C, Galle 24.9°C, Hambantota 24.8°C, Kurunegala 24.5°C and Ratnapura 24.4°C.
A 12.9°C spread
The gap between Nuwara Eliya and Polonnaruwa comes to 12.9°C on the same night — the elevation effect that separates the hill country from the dry-zone plains, and the reason the highlands remain a reliable exception to the heat readings elsewhere.
Minimum temperatures matter differently from daytime highs. Overnight lows that stay close to 27°C give little relief from daytime heat, which is the compounding factor behind heat-stress warnings in the north and east rather than the peak afternoon reading alone.
Against the drought backdrop
Polonnaruwa also held the national daytime high of 37.2°C on August 22, and the northern, north-central and eastern districts recording the warmest minimums here overlap substantially with those worst hit by the prevailing dry spell.
The Met Department has put the likelihood of the current El Niño pattern persisting into the first quarter of next year at 97%. Separately on Wednesday, the department forecast fairly heavy rainfall in some parts of the island and issued an advisory for strong winds and rough seas.
