Brewing Change: Climate Displacement in Sri Lanka’s Tea Highlands
By Eleez Omar
“Ceylon Tea” may be one of the world’s most famous exports. It evokes images of mist-covered mountains, beautiful plantations, and a steaming cup enjoyed thousands of miles from where it was grown. But behind it is a much quieter story, one shaped not only by changing weather, but also by changing lives.
Climate change is reshaping Sri Lanka’s tea-growing regions in ways that extend beyond crop yields and export revenues. As global temperatures rise, rainfall becomes more unpredictable and extreme weather events become more frequent. The tea industry is therefore under growing pressure to adapt. For the thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on tea, these climate pressures may also contribute to displacement.
A Crop Defined by Climate
Tea cultivation is highly sensitive to its environment and requires a specific balance of temperature, rainfall, humidity, and elevation. Even small changes in these conditions can affect plant growth, leaf quality, and harvest timing. Sri Lanka’s central highlands have long provided ideal conditions for producing world-renowned teas. However, climate change is disrupting this balance.
Scientists have observed increasing temperatures, irregular rainfall, prolonged dry periods, and more intense rainfall events across the hill country. These changes can stress tea plants, reduce productivity, encourage the spread of pests and diseases, and increase soil erosion. The challenge facing tea growers is no longer whether the climate is changing, but how quickly they can adapt.
Adaptation Is More Than Farming
Much of the discussion surrounding climate adaptation focuses on agricultural practices. Estate managers are experimenting with drought-resistant tea varieties, alternative irrigation systems, shade trees, and better soil conservation techniques. These measures can help maintain production in an increasingly unpredictable climate; ultimately, however, adaptation should also protect the people whose lives are built around the industry.
Sri Lanka’s tea industry directly and indirectly supports hundreds of thousands of workers, many of whom live in plantation communities that have existed for generations.
These communities are not only places of employment; they are also homes, schools, cultural spaces, and social networks. When climate impacts reduce productivity, workers may experience fewer employment opportunities and greater financial uncertainty. Some families may seek work elsewhere, migrating to nearby towns or cities in search of more stable livelihoods. This type of movement rarely makes headlines, but it represents an emerging form of climate displacement driven by gradual environmental change.
When the Hills Become More Dangerous
Sri Lanka also experiences landslides and intense rainfall. Tea plantations are concentrated on steep hillsides, where heavy rainfall can destabilize slopes. Entire estate communities have experienced displacement after landslides destroyed homes and infrastructure.
While these events are triggered by extreme weather, their severity can be worsened by changing rainfall patterns associated with climate change. For affected families, rebuilding is not always possible. Some are permanently relocated, leaving behind communities where multiple generations had lived and worked. This loss extends beyond housing. Relocation can disrupt employment, education, healthcare access, and, most importantly, community ties that have developed over decades.
A Community with Deep Historical Roots
The human aspect of this story is hard to separate from Sri Lanka’s history. Many plantation workers are descendants of Indian Tamil laborers brought to the island during British colonial rule in the nineteenth century. These communities have built their lives around the tea estates despite facing major economic and social challenges.
Climate change now introduces another layer of vulnerability. If estates reduce production, mechanize operations, or become less economically viable in certain regions, workers may face difficult choices about whether to remain or relocate. The places that once offered stability may no longer provide secure livelihoods. This raises a difficult question: when climate change transforms an industry, can it also displace an entire community?
Redefining Climate Displacement
Climate displacement is often portrayed as dramatic scenes of flooded villages or homes destroyed by storms. Yet many people are displaced more gradually. A family leaves because work becomes unreliable after repeated droughts. A worker relocates following a landslide. A young adult migrates to the city because plantation wages can no longer support a household. None of these individuals may identify themselves as climate migrants, yet climate pressures are increasingly shaping their decisions. This slower form of displacement may go unnoticed because it unfolds over years rather than days.
The future of Sri Lanka’s tea industry will depend increasingly on agricultural innovation. Climate adaptation in this context must include investment in resilient housing, disaster risk reduction, education, healthcare, and alternative livelihood opportunities. Supporting workers through periods of environmental and economic transition is just as important as protecting the crop itself.
Government agencies, tea companies, researchers, and local communities all have a role to play in ensuring that adaptation benefits people as much as production. Ultimately, preserving Ceylon Tea is not simply about protecting the crop; it is also about safeguarding the communities whose lives have shaped the industry for generations. As the climate continues to change, Sri Lanka’s tea story will no longer be measured only by what grows on its hillsides. It will also be measured by whether the people who call those hills home can continue to do so.
The writer is a research and advocacy intern, covering climate displacement and South Asia at Displaced International.
