Sri Lanka urges farmers to conserve water amid possible El Nino impact

Colombo, June 11 (IANS) Sri Lanka’s Department of Agriculture on Thursday urged farmers to use water sparingly as the country prepares for the possible impact of El Nino conditions.

Thushara Wickramaarachchi, director general of the Department of Agriculture, advised farmers to cultivate short-term crop varieties as a precautionary measure.

He said farmers should not be unnecessarily alarmed about cultivation during the Yala farming season, but should manage water carefully and follow guidance from agriculture officials, reports Xinhua news agency.

The department was monitoring the situation and would provide farmers with necessary advice if weather conditions changed, Wickramaarachchi said.

Earlier on Wednesday, a senior official at the Department of Meteorology said that Sri Lanka could face lower rainfall and possible drought conditions in July and August if El Nino develops.

Ajith Wijemanna, acting director general of the department, said rainfall could fall sharply during those months, raising risks for agriculture, irrigation, water supply, energy and public health.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the UN weather agency, has said there is an 80 per cent chance that El Nino conditions will emerge between June and August, and a 90 per cent chance thereafter.

Wijemanna said El Nino usually lasts nine to 12 months. If it develops this year, its impact on Sri Lanka could continue until February 2027, he said.

He added that forecasts show an almost 40 per cent chance of the system strengthening into a strong El Nino by November, December and January.

Recently, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said at a press conference in Geneva, “We need to prepare for a potentially strong El Nino event, which will exacerbate drought and heavy rainfall and increase the risk of heatwaves both on land and in the ocean.”

The most recent El Nino, in 2023-2024, was one of the five strongest on record and it played a role in the record global temperatures in 2024, Saulo noted.

The WMO community will be carefully monitoring conditions in the coming months to inform governments, humanitarian agencies and climate-sensitive sectors, Saulo said, adding that advance seasonal forecasts and early warnings are vital to save lives and cushion the impact of El Nino.

–IANS

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