Vavuniya
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![]() Partial aerial view of Vavuniya | |
Coordinates:8°45′0″N80°29′0″E / 8.75000°N 80.48333°E /8.75000; 80.48333 | |
Country | Sri Lanka |
Province | Northern |
District | Vavuniya |
DS Division | Vavuniya South (Tamil) |
Government | |
• Type | Municipal Council |
• Chairman | Gowthaman (TNA) |
Area | |
• Land | 2,248.96 ha (5,557.30 acres) |
Elevation | 200 m (700 ft) |
Demonyms |
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Time zone | UTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone) |
Website | VUC |
Vavuniya (Tamil:வவுனியா,Romanized:Vavuniya,Sinhala:වවුනියාව,Romanized:Vavuniyāva) is a city inVavuniya District in theNorthern Province ofSri Lanka. The municipality is administered by anMunicipal Council. The town has been known since ancient times, but being a heavily forested area, less than 100,000 people lived in the entire district before theSri Lankan Civil War. The city is situated as a border town that divides theTamil andSinhalese population. To the south of the city are the Sinhala cities and to the north are the Tamil cities. The city has a large population of Tamils,Muslims and a significant number of Sinhalese. In the early days, Vavuniya was known as Vanni due to the abundance ofVanni Trees. TheSecurity Forces Headquarters - Wanni is located in Vavuniya.
This city has a long history of being ruled by the Sinhala kings, who built many tanks and placed Naga Sacred Guard Stones near them with inscriptions. They inherited the city from the ancient Yaka and Nagas of Sri Lanka.
Vavuniya has atropical savanna climate (Köppen:As)[1] with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year and a distinctwet season from October to December. Temperatures are cooler from November to February compared to the rest of the year.
Climate data for Vavuniya (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 34.0 (93.2) | 36.0 (96.8) | 38.8 (101.8) | 40.1 (104.2) | 38.8 (101.8) | 38.5 (101.3) | 38.8 (101.8) | 38.4 (101.1) | 39.1 (102.4) | 38.1 (100.6) | 35.0 (95.0) | 33.0 (91.4) | 40.1 (104.2) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.9 (85.8) | 31.5 (88.7) | 34.3 (93.7) | 34.9 (94.8) | 34.3 (93.7) | 34.4 (93.9) | 34.7 (94.5) | 34.6 (94.3) | 34.5 (94.1) | 32.6 (90.7) | 30.6 (87.1) | 29.6 (85.3) | 33.0 (91.4) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.5 (77.9) | 26.4 (79.5) | 28.4 (83.1) | 29.5 (85.1) | 29.7 (85.5) | 29.8 (85.6) | 29.9 (85.8) | 29.7 (85.5) | 29.6 (85.3) | 28.2 (82.8) | 26.7 (80.1) | 25.8 (78.4) | 28.3 (82.9) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 20.9 (69.6) | 21.1 (70.0) | 22.4 (72.3) | 24.0 (75.2) | 25.0 (77.0) | 25.1 (77.2) | 24.9 (76.8) | 24.7 (76.5) | 24.4 (75.9) | 23.6 (74.5) | 22.7 (72.9) | 21.9 (71.4) | 23.4 (74.1) |
Record low °C (°F) | 12.4 (54.3) | 10.5 (50.9) | 13.4 (56.1) | 15.3 (59.5) | 17.8 (64.0) | 18.8 (65.8) | 18.2 (64.8) | 18.2 (64.8) | 18.5 (65.3) | 16.0 (60.8) | 16.5 (61.7) | 13.0 (55.4) | 10.5 (50.9) |
Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 107.0 (4.21) | 76.2 (3.00) | 43.1 (1.70) | 123.1 (4.85) | 95.4 (3.76) | 21.1 (0.83) | 36.9 (1.45) | 63.9 (2.52) | 88.7 (3.49) | 230.0 (9.06) | 276.0 (10.87) | 249.1 (9.81) | 1,410.5 (55.53) |
Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 7.1 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 9.2 | 5.8 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 5.7 | 13.3 | 17.1 | 12.5 | 88.0 |
Source:NOAA[2] |
The total population of the Northern Province as per the statistics is 1.246 million, the lowest populous province in the country, with 606,678 males (47.3%) and 639,775 females (52.7%). The population density is 136 persons per Sq. km as against to 346 for the whole Island. The majority in the province live in areas classified as rural (84.5%), and only 15.5% of the population live in areas classified as urban. The majority of the population i.e. 89% in the province are Sri Lankan Tamils and others are Sri Lankan Moors, Sinhalese and Indian Tamils living in the province. Most of the Sri Lankan Tamils are Hindus, and the other religious persuasions in the province are Christians, Muslims, and a small number of Buddhists. The graph here shows the difference in ethnic composition from province to district to city. While usually, the city shows a more cosmopolitan nature than the province. The Vavuniya city reflects the composition of the district quite closely, even more so than the provincial percentages.
Ward Number | Area |
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1 | Thandikkulam |
2 | Paddanichipuliyankulam |
3 | Pandarikulam |
4 | Vairavarpuliyankulam |
5 | Kudiyiruppu |
6 | Kadai Veethi |
7 | Moondru Muripu |
8 | Rambaikulam |
9 | Sinnaputhukkulam |
10 | Kovilkulam |
Vavuniya railway station, which is located on theNorthern Line connectsKankesanthurai (the northern terminus of the line) through toColombo.[3] During thecivil war Vavuniya was the terminus of the Northern Line.Vavuniya airport, which is anair force base and adomestic airport is also located here.[4] Vavuniya is situated in the middle of the Vanni region and is the gate to northern province where people can access all the northern cities quickly.
Vavuniya is divided into 4 educational divisions such as Vavuniya North, Vavuniya South, Vavuniya South-Sinhala division, Chettikulam. Vavuniya City comes under Vavuniya South Division