Hot weather to stay for a few more days

The arid and warm weather will remain for a few more days, the Meteorological Department said yesterday.

This week, the Department issued warnings of scorching weather conditions due to the lack of wind movements across Sri Lanka.

Duty Forecaster Janaka Kumara said the arid weather marked the end of the Northeastern monsoon.

“There are no winds flowing into the country. Therefore, there are no cloud formations. The clear sky allows sun rays to enter the atmosphere and heat the air particles at the upper portion,” he said.

In its advisory, the Department warned the people in the Northern, North Central and North Western provinces and in the Monaragala and Hambantota Districts of the extreme hot weather and urged them to drink more water, avoid working in the hot sun and stay under a shade as much as possible.

The amber warning, so described in terms of the department’s heat index, also said that due to the high temperature, people exposed to sun could get dehydrated, suffer from heat cramps, exhaustion or heatstroke.

Meanwhile, the Water Supply and Drainage Board said that due to the hot weather, pipe-borne water consumption had increased and the demand was soaring.

“The increased demand has reduced the water pressure, but we are managing to provide uninterrupted water for our customers by regulat- ing the valves in the piping systems,” Chairman K. A. Ansar said.

He said only 50 percent of the people in the country had access to pipe-borne water, while the rest used wells.

“The tube wells are drying up in many areas. We are sending bowsers to the people in such areas,” he said, urging the public to use water sparingly.

“We would appreciate if our customers would stop using pipe-borne water to water their plants and wash their vehicles,” he said.