Meteorologists say cyclone alerts were issued on time
– The Sri Lanka Association of Meteorologists says officials of the Department of Meteorology followed proper Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) when issuing alerts ahead of Cyclone Ditwah, allowing fishing and naval communities to take early precautions and save lives
The statement comes amid public criticism claiming the Met Department failed to warn the country adequately about the cyclone.According to the Association, Cyclone Ditwah developed unusually fast. Observations showed it intensified from a low-pressure area to a storm within 12 hours—an increasingly common trend linked to global warming and rapid changes in atmospheric conditions.
The Association also stressed the need to upgrade the Met Department’s warning system to provide more accurate alerts during extreme and uncertain weather situations. It said the limitations of the current system are already being reviewed .Meteorologists first detected the atmospheric disturbances linked to Cyclone Ditwah on November 23. The Association said this information was immediately shared with fishing and naval communities, along with a public notice about a possible low-pressure area forming near Sri Lanka around November 25.
By November 24, when the system was still far from the island in the central Bay of Bengal, updated marine warnings—including an Amber alert—were issued based on new data. The public and stakeholders were also informed of the evolving weather situation on the same day.The Association further dismissed claims that the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted the cyclone as early as November 13. It said such claims are false, noting that no meteorological method anywhere in the world can accurately forecast a cyclone weeks in advance.
The IMD, which serves as the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre, officially acknowledged the system’s initial development only in a bulletin issued at 2.30 p.m. on November 23, 2025.
