A recent report by the World Bank revealed that Sri Lanka is among a few South Asian countries identified with a temperature level that is considered too hot for people to be able to work safely outdoors for an average of six hours a day.
Despite this, heat stress as a critical issue in the city has not emerged in Colombo, unlike in cities such as Lahore and Delhi that become unliveable when temperatures rise to above 40°C. While Colombo may not have reached these temperatures, the impacts of heat stress cannot be ignored – in 2024, the Department of Meteorology reported that Sri Lanka was experiencing daily maximum temperatures of 36°C.
When compared with other Asian cities, Colombo has made little or no effort to mitigate this overheating threat at a planning level.
Our research with outdoor workers in Colombo – vendors, street cleaners, gig workers – revealed that heat stress results in health impacts, loss of livelihood and exacerbates gender inequality. As climate change and weather extremes worsen every year, lack of adequate social protection and alternative livelihood options means that outdoor workers continue to work in every weather condition.
A key finding from our work has also been that investing in public infrastructure – such as public bathrooms, taps, benches, shade – will be crucial to how people navigate a city that is becoming hotter every year.
During periods of intense heat, health advisories issued by the Ministry of Health include staying indoors during the hottest time of the year, drinking a lot of water and thambili, avoiding strenuous outdoor activities. However, these are not choices that can be exercised by many workers in the city as staying indoors or avoiding certain kinds of work means loss of income. The loss of day’s earnings can lead to impacts on the food plate, education loss and even ability to stay on grid.
How can Colombo prepare for the future?
Investing in green lungs: Parks and wetlands in Colombo play a crucial part in coping with heat stress. Colombo is a RAMSAR certified wetland city, and data shows that the city has been losing more of its wetland over time due to development. It is critical that we do not lose any more green lungs in the city and aim to increase them – even by creating new spaces wherever possible.
Learn from other cities: Cities around the world have made heat stress and climate change top priorities for how their cities can become more climate resilient. These include creating positions such as Chief Heat Officers within Municipal Councils, or initiatives such as the C40 Cities – a global network of mayors of the world’s leading cities that are united in action to confront the climate crisis. Access to adaptation finance: As the city grows hotter, outdoor workers will need to keep investing in various adaptation measures to cope with the heat. The solution, however, is not to formalise these workers – for example by building indoor markets and shop spaces and moving them from streets – as that only leads to further loss of income and maladaptation to the new spaces.
Instead there must be easily accessible adaptation finance available for informal and outdoor workers that would not push them further into debt but enable them to conduct their livelihood with dignity and safeguard their health.
Data driven planning: Whether it is a Heat Action Plan, any development or infrastructural planning for the city, or climate risk assessments must be data driven. It is not only climate data that must be considered, but also socio-economic data and information that can be disaggregated by age and gender, so that differentiated impacts can be assessed and targeted measures planned for.
Clear institutional responsibility and long term response: At present, it is the Ministry of Health that is the face of information and advisories on the topic of heat stress. While other departments like the Department of Meteorology and even the Colombo Municipal Council have done some work and training, overall, responses remains ad-hoc, targeted, reactive and fragmented. Instead, we need a forward planning, multi-sectoral and coherent response to climate change and heat stress that has the participation of ministries and departments beyond health, to also include education, transport, environment, women and children, food security to name a few.
Climate budgeting: This is the process by which the city’s climate targets are integrated into the city’s financial budgeting process. To put it simply, decision makers must look at the city’s accounting process and ensure that every rupee that is spent has a climate consideration.
There are many cities that do this well, with cities like Oslo leading the way in climate budgeting and through that, enabling innovative financing mechanisms. The climate budget process is the responsibility of Oslo’s finance department and is a fully integrated part of the regular financial budgeting process.
Financing mechanisms: Lack of funding in cities for climate mitigation and adaptation remains a key issue. Public financing is already under much stress, and for Sri Lanka still in recovery mode from its polycrisis – the allocations for key sectors such as health, education, food security, social protection still remains woefully inadequate.
There are countries that are experimenting with different types of innovative financing for climate adaptation, and they range from parametric insurance for informal and outdoor workers, to specific mechanisms like heat credits, heat funds, heat bonds. Political leadership: The time to act seriously and plan for a hotter city may have passed for Colombo, but it is not too late – if we are to avoid the experiences of some of our neighbouring cities such as Delhi and Lahore.
Any of these recommendations requires a political leadership that is visionary, innovative and committed to addressing and mainstreaming climate change in all policy and governance of the city. Without this critical leadership, any efforts to plan for and combat climate change and heat stress may remain fragmented and inadequate, with the most vulnerable populations in the city paying the highest price.
The writer is the Director of Colombo Urban Lab at the Centre for a Smart Future. This column draws from their latest policy brief – “Heat stress in Colombo: understanding impacts and planning for the future” available at https://www.csf-asia.org/heat-stress-in-colombo
