The Department of Meteorology has issued a warm weather advisory covering the Eastern Province and the Polonnaruwa, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Monaragala and Hambantota districts.
The heat index — the temperature as it is felt on the human body, calculated from relative humidity and maximum temperature rather than air temperature alone — is likely to reach the “Caution” level at some places in those areas during the daytime, Ada Derana reported.
Hambantota is new
The warning area is otherwise identical to the advisory issued the previous day, which named the Eastern Province and the same six northern and southeastern districts. Hambantota is the single addition, and it is the first Southern Province district to appear in the current run of advisories.
That run has otherwise moved along a north–south axis in the dry zone. Jaffna and Kilinochchi dropped off the list on 24 August and returned on 27 August. The North Central Province, initially named as a whole, was narrowed to Polonnaruwa district alone, leaving Anuradhapura outside the warning area. The Eastern Province and Monaragala have appeared in every advisory of the run.
Hambantota’s inclusion extends the warning along the southeastern coast, joining Monaragala on the dry-zone belt that runs from Uva down to the coast.
What the Caution level means
At Caution level, the Met Department warns that prolonged exposure to the sun and continued outdoor activity will cause fatigue, and that persisting in those conditions can lead to heat cramps. Residents in the affected districts are advised to stay hydrated and limit strenuous outdoor work.
The advisory arrives during an extended dry spell. Government figures this week put more than 84,500 people across seven districts as affected by El Niño-linked dry weather, and reservoir storage has continued to fall, with Monaragala among the worst-hit areas. The sun also passed directly overhead across much of the island from 28 August, adding to peak daytime heating.
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. No other verified newsroom had published it at the time of writing; it was issued on Friday afternoon.
