December 9, 2022
1 min read

Lanka closes schools as heavy smog spreads from India


The decision to close schools had been reached following advice by the Department of Meteorology and the Disaster Management Centre…writes Susitha Fernando

The Sri Lanka Education Ministry on Thursday decided to close all schools due to ongoing weather conditions as many parts of the country are experiencing heavy smog said to have spread from India.

The ministry has declared Friday a holiday for all government and government-approved private schools, taking the prevailing adverse weather conditions into account.

The decision to close schools had been reached following advice by the Department of Meteorology and the Disaster Management Centre.

From Thursday morning, capital Colombo and many cities of Sri Lanka experienced foggy conditions as a result of dropping air quality. The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) warned that due to the increase in dust particles in the atmosphere, it has created an extremely unhealthy situation.

The heavy influx of dust particles contaminating Sri Lanka’s air space through strong winds from India is a major cause for this condition, NBRO’s Director, Environment, Sarath Padmasiri told media.

According to the NBRO, the air quality of cities around the country including Colombo, Jaffna, Kandy, Vavunia, Trincomalee, Ratnapura and Putlam had dropped.

Colombo was the most affected with the US Air Quality Index (AQI) marked at 246. Many other cities including Kurunegala, Jaffna, Vavuniya, Kandy, Trincomalee registered over 200 in the AQI. However, Padmasiri said that the situation could return to normal within a day or two.

Meanwhile, Colombo Municipal Council’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ruwan Wijayamuni urged schools to avoid children coming to public parks and playground and advised to limit them to class rooms.

Environment Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that the situation is beyond the control of Sri Lanka as the contaminated air was coming away from another country. “This is a situation that should be handled internationally,” he said. He also cautioned that children, pregnant, elders and those who are suffering from respiratory related ailments and cardiovascular disease to stay at home and avoid public places.

“This situation could even to lead to deaths,” he warned.

ALSO READ: IMF BAILOUT: Lanka In A Fix Over Chinese Debts

Previous Story

Budget 2023: Sri Lanka sees major tax hikes and reforms

Next Story

Misleading campaign to oust Hasina

Latest from India News

Rajasthan Returns to Dubai

This year, the Rajasthan Tourism Board set up their stand at ATM Dubai stage 2025—its first appearance in 15+ years. Under the stewardship of Additional Director Mr. Anand Tripathi, Department of Tourism,

India Calls Out Pakistan’s Double Game

Indian High Commissioner to the UK warned that the current hostilities could cease entirely if Pakistan simply refrains from targeting Indian military installations…reports Asian Lite News Indian High Commissioner to the UK,

Trump urges restraint  

President Donald Trump expresses concern over the escalating situation between India and Pakistan and stated that he would offer any possible help to de-escalate tensions    President Donald Trump expressed his concern

Up to 1,000 transgender troops moved out

Department officials have said it’s difficult to determine exactly how many transgender service members there are The Pentagon will immediately begin moving as many as 1,000 openly identifying transgender service members out
Go toTop

Don't Miss

‘Techchnology advancement is new form of evolution’

With the second-biggest network of web users with over 680

All set for 2nd phase polling on Monday

There are 586 candidates in the fray in this phase