Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 02 May 2026, valid for 03 May 2026

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Northern, North-central, Eastern, Sabaragamuwa, North-western provinces and in Colombo, Gampaha and Monaragala districts during the day time.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on the human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED

Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

Somali pirates have hijacked an oil tanker off the coast of Yemen, according to multiple Somali security officials that spoke with the BBC.

The Yemeni coastguard earlier said the tanker MT Eureka had been hijacked and was headed towards Somalia. Sources said it was overrun by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, near the port of Qana.

The pirates departed a remote coastal area near the seaside town of Qandala, which sits on the Gulf of Aden, according to three separate security officials from the semi-autonomous Puntland region who spoke with the BBC.

It marks the second hijacking of an oil tanker in the area in a 10-day period, following the hijacking of Honor 25 by Somali pirates on April 22.

Honor 25 was carrying 18,500 barrels of oil bound for Mogadishu.

MT Eureka was sailing on the flag of the west African nation of Togo prior to the hijacking and was overrun by the gunmen at 5:00 AM local time (03:00 BST) this morning, the security official went on to tell the BBC.

It is now sailing in the Gulf of Aden between Yemen and Somalia, and is expected to anchor in Somali waters in the coming hours.

In a separate incident, the United Kingdom Maritime Transportation Operation (UKMTO) reported on Friday that “armed persons” on a “skiff” approached a bulk carrier near Al-Mukala, Yemen.

Those armed persons departed a remote coastal area near the fishing town of Caluula (Alula), according to three separate security officials. Caluula is 209km (130 miles) from where hijackers departed to seize the MT Eureka.

The two separate incidents indicate piracy is expanding across Somalia’s vast coastline, which is the longest in mainland Africa at 3,333km (2071 miles).

Today’s hijacking marks the fourth successful pirate hijacking in two weeks.

Somali authorities and the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR), which oversees anti piracy operations in Somali waters, are yet to address the latest hijacking.

Somali piracy, which was on the decline since 2011, has surged again since late 2023, when Houthi rebels began attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. The attacks forced international navies to instead tackle the Houthi threat, thus allowing armed groups on the Somali coast to take advantage of the security lapse.

“The on-going crisis with the pirates is much worse than many realize. There are increasing movements (of armed groups) all over the coast” a security official from the semi-autonomous Puntland region told the BBC.

[BBC]

Chennai Super Kings  (CSK) outplayed Mumbai Indians (MI) for the second time this season, leaving Hardik Pandya’s men on the brink of elimination.

After misreading pitch No. 6 against Gujarat Titans (GT) last weekend, CSK used pitch No .5 to their advantage on Saturday, limiting MI to 159 for 7. Their attack kept banging the ball away on good lengths and hard lengths to make life difficult for MI.Rutraj Gaikwad and Kartik Sharma made light work of the middling target with unbeaten half-centuries. They now rise to sixth on the points table, with their fourth win in nine games.

After opting to bat first, MI crashed seven sixes in the powerplay – five of those came from Ryan Rickelton – but some of that big-hitting was offset by the 19 dots they played out during this phase.

Mukesh Choudhary had missed CSK’s previous game against GT, after they had brought Sarfaraz Khan in as Impact Sub as early as the fourth over. Here, he conceded 25 runs in three powerplay overs.

Prashant Veer, the rookie left-arm spinner, had a rough initiation into the IPL with the ball. Rickelton smacked him for three sixes in his first over. Gaikwad tossed him the ball in the fifth over because Akeal Hosein, who had bagged a four-wicket haul against MI at the Wankhede in the reverse fixture, was out of the team at Chepauk for this one. So, Prashant bowled despite the presence of the left-handed Rickelton at the crease. It released the pressure that Choudhary and Anshul Kamboj had built up.

Rickelton and Naman Dhir took MI to 57 for 1 in six overs.

Six of the first ten overs were bowled by uncapped CSK bowlers. While Veer came back well after the powerplay, it was seamer Ramakrishna Ghosh who was more impressive. He claimed the big scalp of Suryakumar Yadav when he banged a hard-length delivery, and had the batter slicing a catch to Dewald Brevis at sweeper cover for 21 off 12 balls.

Before the start of IPL 2025, Gaikwad had name-checked Ghosh as a player to watch out, but it took a while for him to get a game. He showed glimpses of what he’s capable of on Saturday, returning 1 for 24 in his three overs. Left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahamad gave him excellent support, taking out two left-handers in Rickelton and Tilak Varma.

Suryakumar has struggled through the season, and his numbers against pace have been especially wretched: seven dismissals in nine innings, an average of 10.71 and a strike rate of 133.92. Tilak was dropped by Shivam Dube when he was on 1, but added only 4 to his tally before he mis-hit Noor to Gaikwad at cover.

Naman Dhir top-scored for MI with 57 off 37 balls, but could not find a higher tempo that would hurt CSK. He started quickly – he moved to 19 off nine balls – but slowed down drastically against spin. Along the way, he was also reprieved by Dube, on 19.

Captain Hardik Pandya laboured to 18 off 23 balls before Kamboj had him holing out in the final over of the innings. After hitting seven sixes in the first six overs, MI could manage only three in the next 14.

CSK had a shaky start, losing Sanju Samson to Jasprit Bumrah in the second over. At the start of that over, Bumrah got one to angle in at Samson and then veer away late to kiss the outside edge, but Jacks dropped a sitter at slip. At the end of that over, Bumrah found Samson’s outside edge once again, with Rickelton holding onto the catch this time.

After Samson departed for 11 off nine balls, Gaikwad controlled the chase along with Kartik. He picked away Trent Boult for two fours and a six in the third over and went on to bring up back-to-back half-centuries.

At the other end, Kartik targeted the mystery spin of AM Ghazanfar, taking him for 23 off 13 balls. He closed out the game with an eye-catching reverse-scoop off Boult, and sent 34,940 fans at Chepauk into frenzy.

Brief scores:
Chennai Super Kings 160 for 2 in 18.1 overs  (Sanju Samson 11, Rutraj Gaikwad 67*, Urvil Patel 24, Kartik Sharma 54*; Jasprit  Bumrah 1-20, A M Ghazanfar 1-40) beat Mumbai Indians 159 for 7 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 37, Banab Dhir 57,  Suryakumar Yadav 21, Hardik Pandya 18; Anshul Kamboj 3-32, Noor Ahmad  2-26, Ramakrishna Ghosh 1-24, Jamie Overton 1-23) by eight wickets

[Cricinfo]