News
Brrr, the Christmas nip is biting hard
The Department of Meteorology warns of cold weather in coming weeks due to winds from the Northern Hemisphere as well as from the Bay of Bengal blowing across the country.
Heavy mist in Nuwara Eliya: The cold weather will persist because there is no cloud formation over the country. Pix by Shelton Hettiarachchi
“The northern winds will be more dry and cold while the winds from the bay will have moisture so there will be blend of mist and dry cold weather,” Meteorology Department Deputy Director, Anusha Warnasooriya, said.
The central hills will experience much colder weather than in previous years. During the dawn and the night, the temperature might even drop below 10C. There will be heavy mist in Nuwara Eliya, the Horton Plains and surrounding areas, Ms Warnasooriya said.
“This weather in Nuwara Eliya is expected to continue for the next three to four days,” she said.
The cold will persist because there is no cloud formation over the country.
With a burst of moist winds approaching the Himalayas from the northwest — better known simply as a western disturbance — minimum temperatures are expected to rise for a short while but from Christmas Eve night temperatures are likely to fall again, followed by dense and long-lasting fog, Met officials said.
Exceptional rainfall occurred during the week, mainly in the Southern, North-Central and Uva provinces. Massive flooding was reported in the districts of Kalutara, Ratnapura and in parts of Colombo, Galle and Matara.
The total falls were double to treble the volume experienced last year during the same period.
Showers will occur at times next week in the Northern, North-central, Eastern and Uva provinces and in the Hambantota district.
Thundershowers will develop inland after 2pm and spread to western and northwestern parts later. Some showers can be expected over and off western and southern coast in the morning.
The public is asked to beware of strong winds and lightening activity during the storms. Nuwara Eliya District Secretary K.H.M. Meegasmulla said although the city remained picturesque to visitors, climatic patterns have severely disrupted the lives of local residents.
Students sitting the just-concluded GCE Ordinary Level examination suffered in the cold and wet, she said. “Due to the extreme weather, crops such as beetroot, potatoes and lettuce were damaged. During the day, the sunlight is very bright and strong, and the streams have dried up,” Ms Meegasmulla said.
Doctors warn that the combination of rain and cold weather could aggravate asthma and allergic sinusitis. Colds and flu have been widespread in recent months.
In parts of the country, students sitting for the GCE faced great difficulties because of the heavy rains.
Kilinochchi District Secretary R. Ketheeswaram said some students had problems reaching exam centres. The students came from families living in illegal, makeshift houses built around the Iranamadu tank who refused to leave despite after several warnings over rising water levels.
With the weather expected to worsen in the next few days, the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has already issued alerts over possible landslides, rock-falls or cut slope failures in areas of risk.
Landslide mitigation work will be carried out in three phases: first in the Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla and Matale districts, next in Kalutara, Ratnapura and Kegalle and after that in Galle, Matara and Hambantota, NBRO Landslide Studies Division Head R.M.S. Bandara said.