In drought-stricken Sri Lanka, farmers watch wells empty and wildlife crowd shrinking water holes

MEDIRIGIRIYA, Sri Lanka (AP) — When the decades-long civil war that forced Samantha Pushpakumara from his village in north-central Sri Lanka ended, he was finally able to return home to a life of farming that he thought would give his family a stable future. That was until the rains didn't come.

Sri Lanka has been mired in drought for months, leading to severe water shortages that have left reservoirs dry and strained farming communities that depend on seasonal monsoons. Making matters worse, temperatures in many parts of the country have been higher than usual and high humidity has exacerbated the heat stress.

“We feel like we are being hit from every side,” Pushpakumara said. “If there is no water and we have to give up farming, we will have nothing left to live on.”

Climate experts say the lack of rain is likely due in part to a strong El Niño — a natural temporary warming of ocean waters that shifts weather patterns across the globe — combined with warmer temperatures driven partly by human-caused climate change.

Sri Lanka receives rain from two main monsoon systems. The southwest monsoon, which runs roughly from May to September, normally supplies up to 30% of the country’s annual rainfall, but this year there has been little rainfall through late September.

“We cannot say exactly whether it's due to climate change, since we need more evidence. But these kinds of events are increasing in recent years,” said Gayana Krishanthi Hendawitharana, a climate scientist at Sri Lanka’s weather department.

Recent showers have brought some relief to parts of the island. However, climate experts say scattered rain will not be enough to restore reservoirs and groundwater after months of dryness. The country’s 74 reservoirs have hovered around one-third full in recent weeks, resulting in water rationing in many parts of the island.

And it isn't only humans feeling the impact. The drought has also diminished water and food sources for wildlife in the country’s forests. Authorities are using water tankers and underground pipes to replenish watering holes inside some wildlife reserves.

In Medirigiriya, one of the most affected areas, rice farming is central to life. Roads run between villages and broad paddy fields, while small vegetable plots sit beside homes. During wetter years, rain fills irrigation tanks, and water stored there is released through the cultivation seasons.

This year, much of that landscape has been transformed.

The ground is dusty and brown. Vegetable gardens that once provided food and income have withered. Across exposed tank beds, cattle search for fodder.

In villages where household wells have failed, residents wait outside their homes with plastic barrels, bottles and jerrycans for water deliveries that are supplied for free by the Sri Lankan government and charities. On a recent day, a truck fitted with a large black tank pulled up along a dirt road, and families gathered around it with their containers.

For Indika Nuwankumara, a father of three, the drought has driven him into huge debt. He said he’s struggling to repay a $1,500 loan he had taken for farming. Without rain for four months, the rice, okra and eggplant he planted across his 8-acre (3.2-hectare) field have failed.

“I made a loss and am now struggling to repay the loan,” he said.

Nuwankumara said the intense heat has also made it harder to work in the fields.

“The daytime heat is unbearable,” he said. “Even using an electric fan inside our houses is not helpful because it blows warm air.”

The search for water is also playing out inside Sri Lanka’s wildlife reserves such as Yala National Park in southeastern Sri Lanka. Elephants, deer, water buffaloes, crocodiles and many types of birds including peacocks and cranes are among the wildlife that normally frequent watering holes to drink or cool off from the searing heat.

While the Menik River that supplies most of the 1,000-square-kilometer (386-square-mile) park still has flowing water, sections of the park have natural and artificial ponds that the animals drink from. Most of these have dried up. Wildlife officials say animals are suffering dehydration and heat stress.

In the dry landscape on a recent day, spotted deer bent their heads toward muddy pools. Elephants crossed parched ground and stood beside what remained of watering holes. In one area, hoses snaked across dusty earth near a small pool as wildlife workers tried to keep it supplied.

At another site, a tanker backed toward a watering hole and released water onto the baked ground.

Sri Lankan wildlife officials have said temperatures in affected areas have risen above 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), drying vegetation and leaving many natural water sources depleted.

Back in Medirigiriya, Vidanaarachchige Wimalasuriya said he was able to harvest only six sacks of rice after borrowing money expecting to harvest at least 50 sacks.

“The lack of water and excessive heat destroyed my crop,” he said. “I could not give the plants water when they needed it most.”

He said only last year his home and field had been flooded.

“Now we are facing drought,” he said. “I don’t know what is happening to our weather anymore.”

Hemapala Mallika, a rice farmer in Medirigiriya, said the sparse rain they have received in recent weeks has done little to help.

“The water disappears as quickly as water poured onto hot iron," she said. "Even when we get a small spell of rain, it is not enough to soak the soil.”

Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India.

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