Sri Lankan farmers and wildlife face water crisis as drought empties reservoirs

Sri Lanka is enduring a severe drought that has reduced its 74 reservoirs to roughly one-third of capacity, a situation attributed to a strong El Niño event and higher temperatures linked to climate change. In the north-central town of Medirigiriya, farmers like Indika Nuwankumara, who borrowed $1,500 for his 8-acre plot, and Vidanaarachchige Wimalasuriya have seen rice, okra and eggplant crops fail, leaving them in debt and dependent on free water deliveries from the government and charities.

Residents wait with barrels and jerrycans as trucks with large tanks distribute water along dirt roads. Meanwhile, wildlife reserves such as Yala National Park are seeing elephants, deer, buffaloes and birds gather around artificial ponds that officials keep supplied with tankers and hoses, as natural pools dry out and temperatures exceed 35 °C. Climate scientist Gayana Krishnanthi Hendawitharana of the weather department cautions that while each event cannot be directly blamed on climate change, such extreme dry periods are becoming more frequent. The combined human and ecological stress highlights the vulnerability of Sri Lanka’s agriculture and biodiversity to climate variability.