Climate Change Impacts in Sri Lanka, Physical Processes Underlying Them, and Key Adaptations

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Climate Change in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a small island nation lying between 6oN and 10oN latitude and 80oE and 82oE longitude in the Indian Ocean, with an estimated 65,000 square kilometers (World Bank and Asian Development Bank 2). It has a diverse and beautiful natural environment that attracts tourists from every part of the world. The Island is surrounded by mountains in the South-central region and coastal plain (Baba 4). Sri Lanka’s climate is wet and warm, ideal for forest growth. At one time, nearly all of the nation’s land was covered with forests. Sri Lanka’s high temperature, exposure to extreme climate events, and complex hydrological regime make it highly vulnerable to climate change. According to World Bank and Asian Development Bank (2), Sri Lanka's Northern and Northern Western Provinces are the Island's climate change hotspots because they are densely populated.
Climate Change Impacts and the Physical Processes underlying them
Climate change in Sri Lanka is a significant issue whose impacts threaten humans and natural systems. Approximately 50% of the region's population live in low-lying coastal areas and are likely to experience the effect of the rise in sea level (De Zoysa and Inoue 439). A report by the World Bank Group indicated that Sri Lanka is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to a combination of geographic, political, and social factors (World Bank and Asian Development Bank 2). These impacts include rising temperatures, which will affect Sri Lanka’s most vital sectors like tourism, manufacturing, and commercial agriculture (Esham and Garforth 66). In particular, the temperature rise is likely to reduce agriculture yields, including key staples such as rice. This may increase food insecurity in the country. Extreme heat also threatens human health and living standards, especially for outdoor workers in urban areas without suitable cooling systems (Kottawa-Arachchi and Wijeratne 11).
Climate change also threatens Sri Lanka's biodiversity (Kottawa-Arachchi and Wijeratne 3). The rise in sea level caused by climate change can reduce the population of endemic species. Climate change can also affect agricultural productivity, trigger natural disasters such as droughts and floods, increase the spread of infectious diseases, and undermine living standards (Gunaratne et al. 7). Increased natural disasters and disease transmission incidents will make the country susceptible to unexpected catastrophes.
Vulnerability to the Impacts
The above impacts are highly vulnerable in Sri Lanka because the region is at a high risk of experiencing climate change. In 2016, experts ranked Sri Lanker the fourth most country affected by climate change. It implies that Sri Lanka’s large portion of natural disasters is attributed to climate change (Hewawasam and Matsui 255). Therefore, the high vulnerability of climate change impacts in Sri Lanka necessitates proper interventions and stronger disaster preparations to establish a resistance to climate change.
Options for Mitigation and Adaptation
Mitigation and adaptation options help alleviate the impacts of climate change in Sri Lanka. Since climate change has negativ...