Extreme heat in Colombo: plans, cycles and who is at work
A coastal capital where humid heat meets crowded markets, harbours and fish landing sites. Heat plan: parts in place, no full plan found.
Heat type: Humid heat, all year round. Dry heat and humid heat, explained.
Heat action plan: Parts in place, no full plan found
Colombo Municipal Council, with the Department of Meteorology and SLYCAN Trust, has worked on guidelines for a gender-sensitive heat action plan. The Department of Meteorology issues heat index advisories. No adopted city heat plan found yet.
Sources: APN and SLYCAN Trust, 2022 · News 1st, 2024
Heat today
Live readings and the week’s forecast are on the interactive map. Official warnings: Department of Meteorology, Sri Lanka. How much climate change shaped today’s heat: Climate Shift Index map, Climate Central.
Vicious cycles the evidence ties to Colombo
The cooling trap
A University of Colombo study found a pronounced urban heat island, as green space gives way to concrete and asphalt. Source: University of Colombo: urban heat island and green space in Colombo District
The poverty–heat trap
Heat advisories ask people to work in the shade; market and fish workers who sell in the open often cannot. Source: News 1st, 2024
Who heat hits hardest here
Already at work here
- Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN): Funds regional research and capacity building, including a US$40,000 grant for gender-sensitive heat action policies in South Asia and newer work on urban heat in Southeast Asian cities.
- World Meteorological Organization: With WHO, runs the South Asia Climate–Health Desk with India’s meteorological agencies, turning weather and climate information into health protection.
- UN ESCAP: Helps fast-growing cities in South and Southeast Asia plan for extreme urban heat, working with Iloilo City and Cox’s Bazar.
The national picture
Plans and law, warnings, rules for heat at work, cooling, money and other cities in Sri Lanka: the Sri Lanka country snapshot.