DISASTER WARNINGS SRI LANKA SHOULD ADAPT

The rising death toll and widespread infrastructure ruin from the latest deluges serve as a brutal, unmistakable warning: Sri Lanka's socio-economic progress is fundamentally at risk. Climate change is no longer a future threat; it is a present danger. With the island facing a surge in extreme rainfall and crippling heatwaves -threatening food security and livelihoods- there is simply no time to waste.

- By Kelum Bandara

It is once again proven that climate change poses a major risk to Sri Lanka's socioeconomic progress. What happened this time in terms of floods and landslides is a reminder that Sri Lanka is vulnerable to unexpected, climate events.

This time, the entire country was affected, more or less. Enormity of devastation is still unfolding with the death toll rising.

Climate events, be it droughts, heatwaves or cyclonic storms like Ditwa, make a huge socio-economic impact.

For example, as a phenomenon of global warming, temperature rise in Sri Lanka is there though it is projected to be marginally lower than the global average.

Sri Lanka faces a significant threat from extreme heat, with the number of days surpassing 35°C, potentially rising from a baseline of 20 days to more than 100 days by the 2090s, under emissions pathway RCP8.5, according to a World Bank study.

Extreme heat threatens human health and living standards, particularly for outdoor labourers in urban areas.

Without adequate cooling systems; this will particularly impact communities in Sri Lanka's northern region, the World Bank says.

Temperature rise is likely to put downward pressure on agricultural yields, including key staples such as rice. This may impact negatively on on national and household food security.

In fact, it can even impact cultivation patterns. People will find it increasingly difficult to work in fields for long hours. What is needed now is to focus more on research work into these areas.

Yet, rising temperature is not the only phenomenon Sri Lanka faces.

The country faces a growing climate vulnerability that warrants urgent and pragmatic policy attention.

Without credible adaptive action and better disaster response preparedness, the rise in both the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events will expose lives, livelihoods, and vital infrastructure to heightened risk, as happened this time.