{
  "id": 3619170,
  "title": "Unfolding El Niño and burning issues",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/unfolding-el-nino-and-burning-issues",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-27T00:00:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Island Sri Lanka",
    "slug": "the-island-sri-lanka",
    "url": "http://island.lk/unfolding-el-nino-and-burning-issues/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Thursday 27th August, 2026, the world is anticipating a potentially devastating El Niño event, which is expected to be the strongest ever recorded, said experts. Health, food and energy systems across nations are bracing for extreme weather conditions. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka has a history of ignoring warnings and expert opinions. In contrast to previous instances, the world now knows that El Niño is no longer unpredictable.\n\nThree months ago, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued the first warning of the unfolding El Niño event. Sri Lanka should have immediately taken action, but it failed to do so. The Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development hosted a meeting on Tuesday to discuss ways to address potential food availability issues due to El Niño. Officials present believed that the impact on Sri Lanka might be minimal, but they emphasized the need for action to handle food-related challenges arising from disruptions in agricultural production and price escalations in other countries.\n\nMinistry Secretary K. A. Wimalenthirarajah, Consumer Affairs Authority Chairman Hemantha Samarakoon, Cooperative Wholesale Establishment Chairman Kosala Wilbhava, and Lanka Sathosa Chairman Ravindra Fernando attended the meeting, along with other officials and food importers. The government should involve all stakeholders in devising a strategy to ensure food security, particularly during disasters. A multi-sectoral approach, including experts from trade, agriculture, irrigation, meteorology, and farmers' organizations, is essential. These discussions must not be optimistic, and the country must always be prepared for the worst-case scenario.\n\nCurrently, Sri Lanka is experiencing a severe water crisis, especially in its dry zone, where reservoirs are rapidly drying up, and precipitation remains high in some areas. El Niño often triggers extreme and erratic weather patterns, making mitigation efforts critical. Experts recommend several urgent steps Sri Lanka must take, such as strengthening early-warning systems, adjusting planting dates and crop choices, promoting drought- and heat-resistant crops, enhancing irrigation efficiency, increasing water harvesting and storage, diversifying agriculture and rural incomes, and fortifying food storage and distribution systems.\n\nRainwater harvesting should be promoted nationwide as a national priority to mitigate water issues. Currently, Sri Lanka loses between 20% to 30% of its fruits and vegetables post-harvest, while wildlife is responsible for about 40% of annual crop damage. Drought has severely impacted food crops in the dry zone, with paddy being particularly affected. The government needs to focus on maintaining paddy buffer stocks and stop diverting paddy production to animal feed or beer. The current El Niño event is anticipated to last until early 2027, and its effects will linger beyond this timeframe.",
  "summary": "Thursday 27th August, 2026 The world is bracing itself for a historic El Niño event, which is very likely to be the strongest ever measured, “breaking records by a considerable and dangerous margin”, experts have warned. The World Health Organization, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and World Food Programme are urging nations to be prepared for […]",
  "key_points": [
    "World braces for potentially strongest El Niño ever recorded",
    "Sri Lanka ignored warnings, failed to act on first alert",
    "Government to involve stakeholders for food security strategy"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Sri Lanka's delayed response to the impending El Niño event, despite expert warnings, heightens concerns about its preparedness to mitigate impacts on food security and water management.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}