Climate Adaptation

Hint for a Disaster

Shivantha Withanage

Recent heavy rain falls in Sri Lanka has badly affected daily life of many people. Usually Sri Lanka gets monsoon rains in late May and in September. Before the monsoon periods, occurrence of premonsoon rains is normal. But through last four decades this weather pattern has changed. Research results show an accountable disorder in raining periods and amount of rainfall.

This fact prove that climate change is happening all around the world. Climate change is the main impact of Global Warming. Global climate depends on the temperature in the earth’s atmosphere. Any change in atmospheric temperature can cause changes in the climate. Even a slightest difference in the atmospheric temperature can give rise to major natural disasters such as, storms, heavy rain falls and high sea waves. These primary disasters cause secondary natural disasters such as, landslides and floods.

Recently we have experienced disastrous storms and floods in North American region. Now we are experiencing the same thing in Sri Lanka. How can we explain these changes in climate? Normally Global Climate gets change. But it takes thousands of years. The matter is, it did not take thousands of years for these changes. All these climate changes happened just through several decades. So Global Warming is the only probable explanation for these climate changes. This is a forecast for the people who thoroughly believe, that Global Warming is just an idea.

Central Park, Colombo

We can only see a little part of the scene. The main impact is yet to come. May be it will take several decades to reach to the climax. Somehow it will happen, if we do not stop enhancing the global warming by increasing the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere.