Shortage of meteorologists hits weather department

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama

The Meteorology Department lacks a sufficient number of duty meteorologists, Deputy Director of Forecasting and Early Warning M.M.P. Mendis said.  He said the department requires at least 38 meteorologists but is currently short by 10.  

“To provide accurate weather forecasting, the department collects large amounts of data from various institutions. However, several meteorologists have left the country,” he said. 

Meteorologist teams are stationed at the department in Colombo, at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), and at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA).  

With the management of MRIA now handled by a foreign company, the meteorologists stationed there have been reassigned to Colombo. Only basic weather observations are being conducted at MRIA.