On the flight on the evening of September 19 (local time), 3 monks in turquoise turquoise robes chanted sutras, praying to end the drought, while soldiers spread water to perform rituals from 5-liter plastic bottles down below.
A Sri Lankan Air Force official said that the ceremony was performed by monks on the Y-12 fixed-wing aircraft.
While the country is facing difficulties due to dry weather, the plane took off to carry out a symbolic act of compassion," the Sri Lankan Air Force said in a social media post.
The ceremony takes place in the context of Sri Lanka facing complex weather developments. The Sri Lanka Meteorological Agency warns that severe drought and heavy rain are likely to occur in the remaining months of the year. This South Asian nation with 22 million people and an economy mainly based on agriculture is facing the El Nino climate phenomenon that the agency describes as "the worst".
At Yala, Sri Lanka's largest wildlife park in the southeast, two of the six areas have been closed to tourists due to drought.
Meteorological experts predict that the current drought conditions will shift to a period of heavy rain from late September to December. However, after this rainy period, Sri Lanka is forecast to continue to experience a prolonged drought in early 2027.
Reservoirs across the country, including those supplying water to hydropower plants, currently maintain about 50% capacity. Sri Lankan authorities said that this level is still relatively positive compared to previous years, but the risk will increase if the drought becomes more severe next year as forecast.
Previously, the Sri Lankan electricity industry also held religious ceremonies to pray for the gods' blessings when the water level in hydropower reservoirs dropped.
El Nino is a natural climate change phenomenon that causes sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific regions to rise, thereby causing changes in wind and rainfall globally.
Climate change due to human activity may increase the impact of El Nino, as warmer oceans and atmospheres create more energy and humidity, contributing to promoting extreme weather phenomena.
