Temperature change in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Temperature change was 0.849 °C in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Temperature change in Sri Lanka, 1961–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in °C.
Analysis
In 2025, temperature change in Sri Lanka stood at 0.849 °C.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 42.6% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, temperature change in Sri Lanka peaked at 1.48 °C in 2024 and was at its lowest, -0.344 °C, in 1971.
That places Sri Lanka 210th out of 233 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Temperature change in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | °C | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | -0.116 °C | — |
| 1962 | -0.099 °C | -14.7% |
| 1963 | -0.031 °C | -68.7% |
| 1964 | 0.072 °C | -332.3% |
| 1965 | -0.141 °C | -295.8% |
| 1966 | 0.215 °C | -252.5% |
| 1967 | -0.086 °C | -140.0% |
| 1968 | -0.08 °C | -7.0% |
| 1969 | 0.216 °C | -370.0% |
| 1970 | 0.113 °C | -47.7% |
| 1971 | -0.344 °C | -404.4% |
| 1972 | -0.12 °C | -65.1% |
| 1973 | 0.396 °C | -430.0% |
| 1974 | -0.297 °C | -175.0% |
| 1975 | -0.209 °C | -29.6% |
| 1976 | -0.125 °C | -40.2% |
| 1977 | 0.04 °C | -132.0% |
| 1978 | 0.092 °C | +130.0% |
| 1979 | 0.344 °C | +273.9% |
| 1980 | 0.423 °C | +23.0% |
| 1981 | 0.149 °C | -64.8% |
| 1982 | 0.132 °C | -11.4% |
| 1983 | 0.631 °C | +378.0% |
| 1984 | -0.032 °C | -105.1% |
| 1985 | 0.072 °C | -325.0% |
| 1986 | 0.155 °C | +115.3% |
| 1987 | 0.664 °C | +328.4% |
| 1988 | 0.657 °C | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 0.185 °C | -71.8% |
| 1990 | 0.519 °C | +180.5% |
| 1991 | 0.478 °C | -7.9% |
| 1992 | 0.178 °C | -62.8% |
| 1993 | 0.185 °C | +3.9% |
| 1994 | 0.26 °C | +40.5% |
| 1995 | 0.544 °C | +109.2% |
| 1996 | 0.371 °C | -31.8% |
| 1997 | 0.532 °C | +43.4% |
| 1998 | 1.17 °C | +120.3% |
| 1999 | 0.35 °C | -70.1% |
| 2000 | 0.456 °C | +30.3% |
| 2001 | 0.735 °C | +61.2% |
| 2002 | 0.889 °C | +21.0% |
| 2003 | 0.798 °C | -10.2% |
| 2004 | 0.713 °C | -10.7% |
| 2005 | 0.761 °C | +6.7% |
| 2006 | 0.518 °C | -31.9% |
| 2007 | 0.507 °C | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 0.412 °C | -18.7% |
| 2009 | 0.542 °C | +31.6% |
| 2010 | 0.829 °C | +53.0% |
| 2011 | 0.541 °C | -34.7% |
| 2012 | 0.803 °C | +48.4% |
| 2013 | 0.69 °C | -14.1% |
| 2014 | 0.831 °C | +20.4% |
| 2015 | 0.851 °C | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 1.2 °C | +41.4% |
| 2017 | 0.915 °C | -23.9% |
| 2018 | 0.616 °C | -32.7% |
| 2019 | 1.03 °C | +66.9% |
| 2020 | 1.06 °C | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 0.805 °C | -24.1% |
| 2022 | 0.744 °C | -7.6% |
| 2023 | 0.892 °C | +19.9% |
| 2024 | 1.48 °C | +65.7% |
| 2025 | 0.849 °C | -42.6% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.849 °C is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.4 °C, 61% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.849 °C is below the median for South Asia, which is 1.19 °C, 71% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | -0.0056 °C | -0.141 °C | 0.216 °C | 9 |
| 1970s | -0.011 °C | -0.344 °C | 0.396 °C | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3036 °C | -0.032 °C | 0.664 °C | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4589 °C | 0.178 °C | 1.17 °C | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6331 °C | 0.412 °C | 0.889 °C | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8307 °C | 0.541 °C | 1.2 °C | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9713 °C | 0.744 °C | 1.48 °C | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
- 207 French Southern Territories 0.866 °C compare
- 208 French Polynesia 0.863 °C compare
- 209 Tonga 0.858 °C compare
- 211 Tuvalu 0.836 °C compare
- 212 Papua New Guinea 0.834 °C compare
- 213 Chile 0.82 °C compare
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 5.49 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.207 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 5.63 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 1.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is temperature change in Sri Lanka?
- Temperature change in Sri Lanka was 0.849 °C in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest temperature change recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 1.48 °C in 2024.
- What is the lowest temperature change recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.344 °C in 1971.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for temperature change?
- Sri Lanka ranks 210th out of 233 countries with data for 2025.
- Is temperature change rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Temperature change. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Temperature change on land domain disseminates statistics of mean surface temperature change by country, with annual updates. Statistics are available for monthly, seasonal and annual mean temperature anomalies, i.e., temperature change with respect to a baseline climatology, corresponding to the period 1951–1980. The standard deviation of the temperature change of the baseline methodology is also available. Data are based on the publicly available GISTEMP data, the Global Surface Temperature Change data distributed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA-GISS).