By: Victoria Blymier, Princeton in Asia Fellow
Drought struck the North, North Central and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka this August and September generating cascading consequences for the entire island. Drought mapping technology and anticipatory action plans could help to manage disaster risk and mitigate the damage.
As the western region of Sri Lanka experiences heavy annual rains from August through October, known as the Yala monsoon season, the north and east are in their dry season. This year, received precipitation fell far below average.
IWMI’s drought mapping found that major water reservoirs were filled to less than 55% of their storage capacity, and smaller tanks were completely dried up.
The maps, produced through the South Asia Drought Monitoring System (SADMS) tool, measures drought severity on agriculture at the regional and district level. The cloud-based hydrological model forecasts drought as early as 10 days, one month and three months in advance, giving Sri Lanka’s decision makers time to take early action.
“Knowing drought timing and intensity is important for national and provincial governments,” explained Dr Giriraj Amarnath, IWMI…
