GB Samarasinghe, director general of the department says Wednesday's temperature is the lowest since 17.2 degrees recorded in 1920

The storm over Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify further and move North-westward towards Indian east coast, it said.

The temperature in Colombo may be dropped to 18 degrees, according the forecast.

According to said Daily Mirror newspaper, the temperature recorded in the capital on Wednesday is 18.2 Celsius.

The temperature will not stay on 17 or 18 degrees for a long perid of time   GB Samarasinghe, director general of meteorological department

GB Samarasinghe, director general of the department told BBC Sandeshaya that Wednesday's temperature is the lowest since 17.2 degrees recorded in 1920.

"However, the temperature will not stay on 17 or 18 degrees for a long perid of time," he added.

The meteorological department has warned fishing and naval community to refrain from maritime activities as "shallow and deep sea areas off the coast extending from Mannar to Trincomalee via Jaffna will be very rough with very strong winds and intermittent rain."

Sri Lankan public is also advised to be vigilant and follow department's weather information.

The department earlier faced strong criticism for failing to predict a strom that devastated many coastal areas and killed dozens in the island in November.