Abstract:
The present study is focused on the variability of annual rainfall in the Wet Zone of
Sri Lanka (hereafter referred to as Wet Zone) in the period 1941-2000. A
comparative study of two averaging periods 1941-1970 (referred to as 1st 30-year
period) and 1971-2000 (referred to as 2nd 30-year period) was carried out.
The Wet Zone of Sri Lanka occupies 23 percent of the land area in the country. The
Wet Zone has a unique place in the wider geography of Sri Lanka in terms of its
physical geography, as well as its human geography. Rainfall in particular, as
reflected in landforms, drainage, natural vegetation, economic activities, settlement
patterns, and general social fabric and life style of the people. The Wet Zone is the
economic power-house and the main area of population concentration in the country
and eighty three percent of the land area in the Wet Zone is available for use. With
this brief farmable, it is important to analyze the rainfall variability in the Wet Zone.
Therefore, dispersion technique has been applied for the analysis of variability of
rainfall for the present study. Only 36 out of 182 rainfall-reporting stations in the Wet
Zone have selected for the present study (See table. 1)
