You don’t have to wait until you become an adult to talk about the future.
In November 2025, Cyclone Ditwah brought heavy rainfall, floods and landslides across Sri Lanka. Homes were damaged. Families had to leave their houses. Schools and essential services were also disrupted.
In August 2026, a glacial-related collapse in the Himalayan region caused water, mud, rocks and ice to flow through several areas of Nepal. Villages were destroyed, and thousands of children and adults were affected by the disaster.
We cannot simply say that a particular cyclone or flood happened solely because of climate change. Unsafe construction, deforestation, blocked drains, unplanned development and weak early-warning systems can also make disasters more severe.
However, scientists warn us that as the planet gets warmer, risks such as extreme heat, intense rainfall and instability in mountainous and glacial regions are increasing.
These are not just unusual weather events that we can ignore. They are warning signs of a growing climate emergency.
Have you noticed changes in your area too?
Some days may feel hotter than they used to. Your area may have experienced floods, droughts, water shortages, landslides or crop damage. You may have seen plastic blocking drains, rubbish being burned by the roadside or a polluted lake. You may also have heard about human–elephant conflict, where both elephants and people lose their lives.
These problems may appear unrelated. But many of them are connected to how we use land, water, energy and natural resources.
That is why we need climate action.
What is climate change?
There is a natural layer of gases around the Earth. It retains some heat and keeps the planet warm enough for living things to survive.
However, when coal, petroleum and gas are burned, too much heat-trapping gas—such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane—is added to the atmosphere.
Deforestation and damage to natural ecosystems also weaken the natural processes that absorb carbon dioxide. When more heat remains trapped in the atmosphere, the Earth becomes warmer. As a result, weather patterns also begin to change.
This means that global warming has now reached a point where we cannot simply stop it from happening.
Climate change can lead to:
- Extreme heat
- Unpredictable changes in rainfall patterns
- Floods and landslides
- Longer droughts and water shortages
- More damaging cyclones
- Crop damage and food shortages
- Rising sea levels
- Damage to forests, rivers, oceans and wildlife
- Increased health risks
Climate change does not simply mean that every day becomes hotter. It means that our climate is becoming less stable and that some extreme weather events are becoming more frequent or severe.
How does climate change affect our health?
The climate crisis is not only about the moment when a flood, drought or cyclone occurs. Gradually rising temperatures, air and water pollution, food shortages and changing weather patterns can have long-term effects on our health.
Frequent exposure to extreme heat can cause dehydration, exhaustion, headaches and kidney-related problems. Air pollution can increase the risk of asthma and other respiratory illnesses. As areas where disease-carrying insects such as mosquitoes can spread increase, diseases such as dengue may also spread to more areas and for longer periods.
Droughts, floods and crop damage can make it harder to access nutritious food. The prices of vegetables and fruits may also increase. When people cannot access nutritious food, it can affect the physical growth, brain development, learning and ability to fight diseases of children and adolescents.
Fear about climate change, repeated loss of homes or livelihoods, and uncertainty about the future can also have long-term effects on mental health.
Impact on sexual and reproductive health
The climate crisis can also affect our sexual and reproductive health, both in the short term and the long term.
Scientists have shown that extreme heat and nutritional deficiencies can cause changes in the menstrual cycle.
Water shortages, lack of safe toilets and increasing prices of menstrual products can make it extremely difficult for girls to manage menstrual health and hygiene properly.
Doctors have shown that extreme heat can create increased health risks for pregnant people and foetuses. Scientists around the world have also found microplastics and other plastic particles in organs and tissues related to human reproduction.
Floods, droughts and displacement can make it difficult to access clinics, disrupting tests, treatment and continuous pregnancy care. We experienced this during Cyclone Ditwah.
Loss of income and access to education may also increase the risk that some adolescents are forced into early marriage. This can increase the risks of unintended pregnancies, sexual exploitation and violence.
Climate action is therefore not only about planting trees and reducing plastic use. Ensuring continuous access for everyone to clean water, nutritious food, safe toilets, menstrual health facilities, and sexual and reproductive health services is also part of climate action.
Protecting our environment means protecting not only ourselves from disasters today, but also our bodies, health and future generations in the long term.
How do we see the climate emergency in Sri Lanka?
For those of us living in Sri Lanka, the climate emergency is not something happening in a distant country.
A prolonged drought can leave a village without enough water. Heavy rainfall can flood homes, close schools and destroy books and school uniforms. Landslides can force families to leave their homes.
If rain comes early, late or all at once, a farmer’s entire harvest can be destroyed. When changes in the sea and weather become unpredictable, fishers may have to risk their lives to continue working.
Between 2001 and 2025, it appears that 96% of tree cover loss in Sri Lanka was caused by human activities. The main cause has been the conversion of forest land for permanent agriculture. Around 220,000 hectares of tree cover have been lost through this alone. Settlement and infrastructure development, logging and mining have also contributed to this destruction. This shows that forest loss in Sri Lanka is largely connected not to natural causes, but to the way we use land.
These impacts are not experienced equally by everyone.
Low-income families have fewer resources to prepare for disasters, move to safe places or rebuild their lives afterwards. Girls, children with disabilities, and children living in rural, coastal, plantation or conflict-affected areas may face additional challenges.
For example, after a flood or during displacement, girls may struggle to access clean water, private toilets and menstrual hygiene products. Women and girls may also have to take on a greater share of cooking, cleaning and caring for others.
That is why climate action needs to be fair.
What is the Paris Agreement?
In 2015, countries from around the world came together in Paris, France, and established an international agreement on climate change. It is known as the Paris Agreement.
Its main goal is to keep the increase in the Earth’s average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Countries should also make efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C as much as possible.
One or two degrees may not sound like much. But this is not about the temperature of one city or one day. It is about the average temperature of the entire planet.
Even a small increase can have serious impacts on rainfall patterns, oceans, ice, food production, ecosystems and human health.
Under the Paris Agreement, countries have agreed to:
1. Reduce greenhouse gases that warm the planet
2. Prepare for climate impacts that are already happening
3. Protect people and communities from climate risks
4. Provide financial, knowledge and technological support to countries that need it for climate action
5. Submit their national climate plans and strengthen them regularly.
Sri Lanka has also made climate commitments. So children like you have the right to ask:
- What commitments has Sri Lanka made?
- Is the government fulfilling them?
- Is enough money being allocated for climate action?
- Are rural communities being consulted?
- Are schools being prepared for floods, extreme heat and other disasters?
- Are young people genuinely being involved in climate decision-making?
The Paris Agreement shows the world a direction in which countries should move together. However, countries are still not reducing pollution quickly enough.
Some of the world’s major climate priorities can be clearly described as follows:
1. Limit the increase in temperature to 1.5°C
Governments need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions more rapidly.
The fossil fuel industry is the largest source of pollution in the world. Examples include state-owned companies such as Saudi Aramco, Coal India and China Energy. These companies add billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year.
2. Move away from coal, oil and gas
The world needs to reduce its dependence on coal, petroleum and gas and increase the use of clean energy sources such as solar and wind power.
This transition needs to be fair. Solutions that allow powerful companies to continue making profits while making workers and low-income families poorer are not fair.
3. Protect and restore nature
Forests, wetlands, mangroves, rivers, oceans and healthy soil are essential for our lives. They provide water, store carbon, reduce disaster risks and provide habitats for wildlife.
One of the world’s biodiversity targets is to protect at least 30% of the world’s land, inland waters and oceans by 2030, and restore at least 30% of degraded ecosystems.
However, protecting nature does not mean forcibly removing the communities who live there. That is why it is important to listen to people when making these decisions.
4. Prepare for changes that are already happening
Some climate impacts are already here.
Countries need to prepare for heat, floods, droughts, cyclones, landslides, food shortages and health risks.
This is known as climate adaptation.
This requires:
- Good drainage systems
- Early-warning systems
- Climate-resilient schools
- Safe water sources
- Plans to cope with extreme heat
- Farming methods that can adapt to climate change
- Safe evacuation routes
- Emergency shelters accessible to everyone
- Private toilets, clean water and menstrual hygiene products during disasters
5. Take responsibility for loss and damage
Some losses cannot be prevented or adapted to.
A home can disappear completely in a landslide. A farmer may lose their harvest repeatedly. A coastal community may lose its land because of rising sea levels.
Countries and companies that have contributed the most to causing climate change should support affected communities in rebuilding their lives. This is known as responding to climate-related loss and damage.
6. Listen to children and young people
Young people will have to live with the consequences of decisions being made today. Therefore, children like you should have opportunities to question climate plans, propose solutions and genuinely participate in decision-making.
Asking children to sing a song, perform a dance or hold a placard at an event is not the same as listening to them.
Their opinions need to be heard before decisions are made. Those views also need to be included in the decisions.
Climate change and plastic pollution are connected
Plastic pollution and climate change are not the same problem. However, they are closely connected.
Most plastic is produced using fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases are released during plastic production, transportation and burning. Plastic that enters drains, rivers and oceans harms animals and damages natural ecosystems.
A report published in 2016 warned that if we continued producing and discarding plastic at the same rate, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.
This does not mean that there will literally be no fish left in the ocean by 2050. It was a serious warning about the enormous amount of plastic entering the oceans.
The solution cannot be limited to telling children not to use plastic straws or to carry reusable bottles.
We need action such as:
- Reducing unnecessary plastic production
- Limiting harmful single-use plastics
- Introducing safe reuse and refill systems
- Ensuring producer responsibility for the waste they create
- Providing proper waste collection services to every community
- Stopping open dumping and the burning of plastic
- Preventing waste from entering rivers and oceans
- Children can reduce waste. But children did not create the plastic industry. Adults, businesses and governments need to take responsibility.
According to a global brand audit, Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Unilever were identified among the companies whose branded plastic waste was most frequently collected in the audit. These products are also found in our villages, schools and homes. Microplastics have also been detected in breast milk, raising concerns about exposure to plastic particles.
Is human–elephant conflict connected to this?
Elephants in Sri Lanka need connected habitats, water, food and safe movement routes to survive. People living near elephant habitats also need safe homes, farmland, roads and livelihoods.
When forests are cleared, elephant movement routes are blocked, or large development projects enter their habitats, elephants may move through villages and farmland in search of food and water. For example, environmental activists have pointed out that the construction of the Moragahakanda Reservoir caused significant damage to elephant routes and habitats around Minneriya and Wasgamuwa.
Drought, waste disposal and environmental destruction can make this situation even worse. The consequences can be frightening and deadly for both people and elephants.
For example, during 2025, 204 elephants died solely as a result of human activities.
We cannot find a solution to human–elephant conflict by blaming rural communities. Moving elephants from one area to another alone cannot solve the problem either.
Adults and authorities need to make better decisions about land use, forests, agriculture, roads, waste and development. The knowledge, experiences and safety concerns of communities living alongside elephants also need to be heard.
Protecting elephants and protecting people are not two opposing choices. We need solutions that protect both.
What can you do?
You do not have to do everything at once. Start with one thing connected to your school, home or community.
Look at what is happening around you
Climate action can begin with a question:
- Where does our waste go?
- Is plastic being burned near our homes?
- Is a lake, canal or stream being polluted?
- Does our school have enough shade and drinking water?
- What happens to animals when nearby land is cleared?
- Who would be most affected if our area floods?
- Can every child safely use an emergency shelter?
- During a disaster, can girls safely manage their menstrual hygiene?
- Ask older people how the weather, water, agriculture, wildlife or coastline has changed over time. Record what you learn.
Create a climate map
With permission and adult support, mark the following locations on a map of your school or village:
- Places that flood
- Places where waste is dumped
- Places where plastic is burned
- Places where water is polluted
- Places where trees are being cut down
- Places that experience extreme heat
- Blocked drains
- Wildlife movement routes
- Places experiencing water shortages
Record the date and, where it is safe and appropriate, take photographs.
Work together with friends and teachers
You can:
- Stop the burning of waste
- Reduce single-use plastics at school events
- Protect existing trees
- Ask for more shade and drinking-water facilities
- Check drains before the rainy season
- Organise better waste separation and collection
- Start a properly maintained composting project
- Create a school plan for floods, extreme heat and other disasters
- Make sure students with disabilities can also use the plan
- Include greater attention to menstrual health, water and privacy in disaster plans
Before starting a project, ask who will maintain it over time. A garden that nobody waters or a rubbish bin that nobody empties will not create long-term change.
Ask questions — and ask again
If an authority promises to clean a canal, protect a forest or improve waste collection, ask what happened next.
Write a letter with your classmates. Ask for a discussion through your school. Speak at a community meeting. Create an exhibition showing both the problem and the solution you want.
One question can be ignored. But when an informed group of young people comes together and continues asking questions, it becomes harder for authorities to ignore them.
What should we ask adults to do?
Let’s ask our schools for:
- Clean drinking water, shade and good ventilation
- Clean, private and accessible toilets
- An end to waste burning
- Reduction of single-use plastics
- Teaching climate change using Sri Lankan examples
- Involving students in environmental decisions
Let’s ask local authorities for:
- Proper and equitable waste collection services
- An end to open dumping and plastic burning
- Protection of lakes, canals, wetlands and water sources
- Drain maintenance and flood preparedness
- Consultation with communities before development decisions are made
- Public disclosure of plans, spending and progress
- Genuine responses to complaints—not just another WhatsApp group where nothing happens
Let’s ask the government for:
- Fulfilment of Sri Lanka’s commitments under the Paris Agreement
- A rapid transition to clean and affordable energy
- Better, safer and accessible public transport
- Protection of forests, wetlands, rivers and wildlife corridors
- Fair and science-based solutions to human–elephant conflict
- Action against businesses and institutions that pollute the environment
- Climate-resilient schools and hospitals
- Support for farmers, fishers and workers affected by climate change
- Disaster plans that protect women, children, older people and people with disabilities
- Improved access to water, private toilets and menstrual hygiene products in emergency shelters
- Genuine participation of young people in climate decision-making
- Honest information shared with the public about climate spending, plans and results
Elephant-Free Elephant Walk: Climate Action We Take Together
The Elephant-Free Elephant Walk began as a space for children, women, schools and communities in Ibbagamuwa to come together and talk about climate change, biodiversity loss, plastic pollution and human–elephant conflict.
Instead of using real elephants, children and communities use large elephant puppets, bicycles decorated as elephants, costumes, artwork, performances and messages. Without capturing, controlling or exploiting elephants, they bring elephants into our conversations.
The walk shows us that climate action can be serious while also being joyful. It can bring together science, art, local knowledge and collective action.
