The Department of Meteorology has issued a warm weather advisory for Friday covering the Eastern Province and the Polonnaruwa, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts.
The heat index — the temperature as it is felt on the human body — is likely to rise to the “Caution” level at some places in those areas during the daytime, Ada Derana reported. The department calculates the index from relative humidity and maximum temperature rather than from air temperature alone.
The department warned that prolonged exposure to the sun and outdoor activity will cause fatigue, and that continuing to exert oneself in those conditions could lead to heat cramps. Residents have been asked to stay hydrated and to limit strenuous outdoor activity.
The warning area has shifted north again
Friday’s advisory covers different ground from the last one in this run. The advisory issued on 24 August for the following day named the Eastern and North Central provinces plus the Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Monaragala districts — with Jaffna and Kilinochchi having dropped off the list after appearing the day before.
Both are back for Friday. Moving in the other direction, the North Central Province is no longer named as a whole: only Polonnaruwa district appears, which leaves Anuradhapura off the warning area. The Eastern Province and Monaragala have appeared in every advisory of the current run.
Ada Derana attributed this advisory to the Department of Meteorology. Earlier advisories in the run were issued in the name of the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre, which operates under the department.
Overnight lows offer little relief
Separate Met Department figures reported by Daily Mirror on Thursday show how little the nights are cooling in the districts named. Jaffna, Mannar and Polonnaruwa each recorded the country’s highest minimum temperature at 27.0°C, with Pothuvil at 26.9°C, Trincomalee at 26.8°C — both in the Eastern Province — and Mullaitivu at 26.5°C. Nuwara Eliya recorded the national low of 14.9°C.
Overnight minimums close to 27°C give little recovery from daytime heat, a compounding factor behind heat-stress warnings in the north and east rather than the peak afternoon reading alone. Mannar is a notable absence from Friday’s advisory despite tying for the highest overnight minimum in the country.
The advisory sits within a prolonged dry spell affecting districts across the north, north-central and east. No other verified newsroom had published it at the time of writing; it was issued late on Thursday afternoon.
