Sri Lanka Climate
Top 5 Cities: Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Jaffna, and Negombo
This month in numbers
Sri Lanka experienced its 30th warmest April on record in 2026, with an average temperature of 27.45°C, marking an anomaly of +0.3°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. The three-month period from February to April 2026 was the 15th warmest on record, with an average temperature of 26.75°C, an anomaly of +0.6°C. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April on record for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.1°C.
What changed
Sri Lanka's recent temperatures show a continued warming trend, with the latest full year (2025) being the warmest on record at 27.27°C. The country's 1-month anomaly for April 2026 was 1.50°C cooler than the Asia group average, placing it 228th out of 234 regions globally for the latest month's anomaly. Similarly, for the three-month anomaly, Sri Lanka ranked 220th out of 234 regions.
What’s driving change?
The current climate patterns in Sri Lanka are significantly influenced by the evolving ENSO state. The NOAA ONI for February-April 2026 indicates Neutral conditions, with a weekly Niño 3.4 SST anomaly of +0.9°C as of April 29, 2026. However, forecasts suggest a strong likelihood of El Niño developing in the coming months, with a 61% chance for May-July and a 79% chance for June-August. El Niño typically brings warmer and drier conditions to Sri Lanka, often leading to reduced rainfall, particularly during the Southwest monsoon, and declining reservoir levels. This can intensify pressure on irrigation and water supply systems. The country is also still recovering from the devastating impacts of Cyclone Ditwah in November 2025, which brought the worst flooding and landslides in decades, affecting nearly a million people and causing over 600 deaths.
Looking ahead
With an El Niño phase strongly forecast to develop in the coming months, Sri Lanka could face extended drought conditions through September, necessitating proactive water management.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for Sri Lanka
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) — see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in Sri Lanka changing?
Sri Lanka is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Sri Lanka come from?
Climate data for Sri Lanka comes from Our World in Data, sourcing Copernicus ERA5 and HadCRUT5 (national temperature anomaly) and the Global Carbon Project via Our World in Data (CO₂ emissions), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the Sri Lanka climate data cover?
The Sri Lanka climate profile covers Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Jaffna and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall and emissions data for Sri Lanka
How often is the Sri Lanka climate update refreshed?
The Sri Lanka climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.