Foundation for Environment, Climate & Technology

Risk of Extreme Rainfall over Sri Lanka February 5-9, 2011

FECT ADMIN — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 17:00:03 +0000

NOAA ESRL forecasts shows
over 100 mm of rainfall for the next four days.

Indian Meteorological Departments Regional Model Predictions for the February 5-7th

IMD Regional Weather Model Predictions February 8, 2011

Rainfall over Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, South Asia January 2011

FECT ADMIN — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 13:49:18 +0000

January 2011: Percent of Normal Rainfall over South Asia

Rainfall over Southern Asia for January 2011

Rainfall over Southern Asia for January 2011

Flooding in Sri Lanka

FECT ADMIN — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:13:52 +0000

Flood Disaster in Sri Lanka

There are reports that the Flooding in Sri Lanka has become the second most damaging natural disaster affecting Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami. The floods have been most devastating in the Eastern coastal zone. The citizen website Groundviews has an updated compilation and mapping of flood impact reports.

Rainfall Estimates by Sub-Districts

Here are rainfall departures from a 10-year mean estimated from available satellite and ground observations by NOAA/CPC. We have found that these rainfall estimates are good within 25%. The rainfall from the end of December 2010 and January 2011 is mapped below. The rainfall is well above the historical record – the average rainfall expected based on a 140 years of record for all of Sri Lanka during December is about 50-80 mm for 10 days. The Eastern region usually gets significantly more rainfall of 70-100 mm. However, rainfall that has been received is about five fold specially in the Eastern Coastal region from Pottuvil, Batticaloa reaching to Trincomalee.

Rainfall from Dec 20 - 31, 2010

: Rainfall from January 1 – 10, 2011

: Scale for Rainfall – going from 0-500 mm for a 10 day total.

There is no persuasive evidence that the anomalies this year was due to global warming

Attributing the Floods to La Nina and Global Warming

Flooding has been driven by surplus rainfall across Sri Lanka since April. Such a surplus is typical during a La Nina till September. However, the rainfall is expected to be below normal from October to December during La Nina. This year however the rainfall was really high in November and December 2010 (but not October) and the first half of January. See our research papers on this topic.

Jan 2008: Zubair, L., M. Siriwardhana, J. Chandimala, and Z. Yahiya, Predictability of Sri Lankan Rainfall based on El Nino-Southern Oscilation, International Journal of Climatology, 28 (1) : 91-101. abstract and pdf

Climate News 7/15

FECT ADMIN — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:55:31 +0000

Please find the weekly WMS report here, as well as a compilation of the weeks headlines on climate and environment matters from Sri Lanka, Asia and the World. We hope you find this useful.

MacArthur Awards Announcement

FECT ADMIN — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:22:22 +0000

MacArthur Foundation, USA will fund the University of Peradeniya to offer an MDP program with a focus on sustainable development challenges in South Asia, emphasizing tropical coastal areas and small islands. The University will collaborate with the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University, University of California, Davis, and the Foundation for Environment, Climate and Technology, among others. Field training will take place in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Read more here about MacArthur Foundation’s Awards to Support New Master’s Programs to Train Sustainable Development Leaders Around the World.

Introduction

FECT ADMIN — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 03:01:57 +0000

Weather and Climate shapes lives, livelihoods, environment and the economy with pervasive impact. The Foundation for Environment, Climate and Technology takes advantage of advances in weather and environmental prediction technologies, advances in computing, satellite imaging and communication technologies towards developing useable scientific and technological information that can be applied in diverse sectors in Sri Lanka. We also specialize in the areas of information technology, publishing and engineering for sustainable development in addition to climate. We work with partners in government institutions,research institutes and universities.