Policy Brief: Strengthening Local Government Action on Urban Heat in Sri Lankan Cities: UHI-City Resilience Scorecard & Comprehensive Guidance Note

Urban heat is becoming an increasingly important challenge for Sri Lankan cities. Rapid urbanisation, declining tree cover, shrinking wetlands, dense built form, impervious surfaces, weak ventilation, and limited routine heat monitoring are intensifying Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects in cities such as Colombo, Kandy, Kurunegala, and other growing urban centres. These changes are raising heat stress, increasing cooling costs, reducing productivity, worsening environmental conditions, and placing disproportionate burdens on older people, children, outdoor workers, and low-income communities.

Local governments are central to the solution because they influence land-use decisions, planning approvals, public space design, urban greenery, drainage, local infrastructure, and community engagement. However, current responses remain uneven and fragmented. Urban greening is the most visible intervention, but it is often weakened by poor maintenance, weak targeting, limited finance,
fragmented institutional responsibilities, inadequate data, and weak enforcement. Cool materials, routine heat mapping, and enforceable heat-sensitive planning controls are still not well embedded in everyday local practice.

This policy brief calls for urban heat to be treated as a practical issue in governance, planning, public health, and resilience. It also presents a customised UHI-City Resilience Scorecard (annex 1) and accompanying Comprehensive Guidance Note (annex 2) as practical tools for local governments. Together, these tools can help local governments assess present readiness, identify priority gaps, plan short-term and medium-term action, and integrate UHI management into routine local governance.