UNICEF's report Weathering the Future: The Growing Crisis of Child Displacement in South Asia detailed that an estimated 4.6 per cent of its under-18 population was displaced between 2016 to 2022 due to climatic disaster events. Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Mullaitivu were highlighted as 'very high-risk' areas for flooding.
Mass movements, flooding, and storms led to the most displacements across the Tamil homelands. The impact of heatwaves on community displacements was underreported across all data sets due to complexities in accurate documentation.
The report noted that "Sri Lanka's vulnerability to hazards is distributed unevenly across regions, leading to recurrent displacement events affecting many individuals from the same areas," forcing them to leave their homes repeatedly.
Sri Lanka consistently ranks among the 10 most at-risk countries according to the Global Climate Risk Index. Within Sri Lanka, a 2018 World Bank study identified the Northern and Northwestern Provinces as the top climate hotspots. These regions considered war-affected, stand the least equipped to confront the crisis.
The North-East continues to be occupied by the Sri Lankan military, with state-sponsored land grabs a key block to development across the region.
Land disputes centred on access, control, and distribution remain a major challenge to peacebuilding in the North-East, according to a recent report supported by the UN Sri Lanka SDG Fund. The report warns that post-conflict contestations over land frequently involve state actors, including the occupying military, as well as government agencies such as the Departments of Archaeology, Wildlife, Forest, and the Mahaweli Authority.
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