Puttalam
Puttalam පුත්තලම புத்தளம்  | |
|---|---|
Town  | |
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![]() Puttalam පුත්තලම புத்தளம்  | |
| Coordinates: 08°02′03″N 79°50′07″E / 8.03417°N 79.83528°E | |
| Country | Sri Lanka | 
| Province | North Western | 
| District | Puttalam District | 
| Divisional Secretariat | Puttalam Division | 
| Government | |
| • Type | Puttalam Municipal Council | 
| • Mayor | Vacant since May 2021[1] | 
| Area | |
 • Town  | 25.6 km2 (9.9 sq mi) | 
| • Land | 119.0 km2 (45.9 sq mi) | 
| • Water | 327 km2 (126 sq mi) | 
| Population  (2012)[2]  | |
 • Town  | 45,511 (Urban Council) | 
| • Density | 400/km2 (1,000/sq mi) | 
| • Urban density | 1,778/km2 (4,600/sq mi) | 
| • Metro | 82,443 (Puttalam Division) | 
| • Metro density | 471.1/km2 (1,220/sq mi) | 
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone) | 
Puttalam (Sinhala: පුත්තලම, romanized: Puttalama; Tamil: புத்தளம், romanized: Puttaḷam) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam District and governed by a municipal council.
Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification, Pattalam has a tropical savanna climate (As) with a short dry season from June to September and a second dry season from January to March. The wet season is mainly from October to December. Temperatures remain steady throughout the year with little variations in between.
| Climate data for Puttalam (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | 
| Record high °C (°F) | 34.4 (93.9)  |  36.4 (97.5)  |  38.5 (101.3)  |  38.5 (101.3)  |  36.2 (97.2)  |  35.4 (95.7)  |  34.9 (94.8)  |  35.5 (95.9)  |  35.7 (96.3)  |  35.5 (95.9)  |  34.5 (94.1)  |  33.1 (91.6)  |  38.5 (101.3)  | 
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.7 (87.3)  |  32.3 (90.1)  |  33.5 (92.3)  |  33.2 (91.8)  |  32.5 (90.5)  |  31.7 (89.1)  |  31.5 (88.7)  |  31.7 (89.1)  |  31.8 (89.2)  |  31.3 (88.3)  |  30.7 (87.3)  |  30.0 (86.0)  |  31.8 (89.2)  | 
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.2 (79.2)  |  27.0 (80.6)  |  28.6 (83.5)  |  28.9 (84.0)  |  29.5 (85.1)  |  29.2 (84.6)  |  28.9 (84.0)  |  28.9 (84.0)  |  28.9 (84.0)  |  28.1 (82.6)  |  27.1 (80.8)  |  26.4 (79.5)  |  28.1 (82.6)  | 
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21.4 (70.5)  |  21.7 (71.1)  |  23.4 (74.1)  |  24.7 (76.5)  |  26.5 (79.7)  |  26.7 (80.1)  |  26.3 (79.3)  |  26.2 (79.2)  |  25.9 (78.6)  |  24.7 (76.5)  |  23.5 (74.3)  |  22.6 (72.7)  |  24.5 (76.1)  | 
| Record low °C (°F) | 15.6 (60.1)  |  16.2 (61.2)  |  17.0 (62.6)  |  20.5 (68.9)  |  19.7 (67.5)  |  22.7 (72.9)  |  22.0 (71.6)  |  22.5 (72.5)  |  21.4 (70.5)  |  21.3 (70.3)  |  17.4 (63.3)  |  15.7 (60.3)  |  15.6 (60.1)  | 
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 50.5 (1.99)  |  42.1 (1.66)  |  56.9 (2.24)  |  154.4 (6.08)  |  101.8 (4.01)  |  32.1 (1.26)  |  23.5 (0.93)  |  23.3 (0.92)  |  69.2 (2.72)  |  230.6 (9.08)  |  254.6 (10.02)  |  143.7 (5.66)  |  1,182.6 (46.56)  | 
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 5.6 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 9.5 | 6.5 | 4.2 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 5.8 | 12.8 | 15.3 | 10.8 | 84.7 | 
| Source: NOAA[3] | |||||||||||||
Points of interest
Energy
Seguwantivu Wind Power (Private) Limited, an Indian firm, invests US$37 million and maintains 25 wind turbines which produce 20 MWs of electricity in Puttalam Seguwantivu region.[5]
Education
National schools
- Zahira National College, Puttalam
 - Ananda National School, Puttalam
 - science college, puttalam
 - St.mary's tamil maha vidyalayam, puttalam
 
Provincial schools
- President's Science College
 - Fathima Muslim Ladies College[7]
 - Science High School, Puttalam
 - Puttalam Hindu Central College
 - Thillayadi Muslim Maha Vidhyalaya
 - Zahira Primary School
 - Manal Kundru Muslim Maha Vidhiyalaya
 - Zainab Muslim Girl's Primary
 - Assenkudhoos Government Muslim Vidyalayam
 - St. Mary's National College
 - St. Andrew's Central College
 
International schools
- Phoenix International School
 - Puttalam Primary school and child care centre
 - KEC
 - St. Joseph Vaz College
 - Ikra International School
 - School of Excellence
 - Mercy Education Center
 
Puttalam also has an open university.
Religion
Puttalam is a multi-cultural and multi-religious town. Islam is the major religion in Puttalam town while Buddhists and Christians are significant minorities; there is also a small Hindu population.[9]
Religious places
- Mohideen Jumma Mosque
 - Buddhist Centre
 - Muthu Maariamman Temple
 - Mother of Refuge Catholic Church
 
| Climate data for Puttalam (1961–1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | 
| Record high °C (°F) | 35.0 (95.0)  |  37.9 (100.2)  |  38.5 (101.3)  |  38.5 (101.3)  |  36.2 (97.2)  |  36.1 (97.0)  |  36.7 (98.1)  |  35.5 (95.9)  |  35.7 (96.3)  |  35.5 (95.9)  |  36.1 (97.0)  |  34.6 (94.3)  |  38.5 (101.3)  | 
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.5 (86.9)  |  32.1 (89.8)  |  33.2 (91.8)  |  33.1 (91.6)  |  32.3 (90.1)  |  31.5 (88.7)  |  31.4 (88.5)  |  31.5 (88.7)  |  31.7 (89.1)  |  31.1 (88.0)  |  30.5 (86.9)  |  29.9 (85.8)  |  31.6 (88.9)  | 
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.8 (78.4)  |  26.8 (80.2)  |  28.1 (82.6)  |  28.8 (83.8)  |  29.0 (84.2)  |  28.8 (83.8)  |  28.5 (83.3)  |  28.5 (83.3)  |  28.5 (83.3)  |  27.6 (81.7)  |  26.7 (80.1)  |  26.0 (78.8)  |  27.8 (82.0)  | 
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21.0 (69.8)  |  21.4 (70.5)  |  23.1 (73.6)  |  24.5 (76.1)  |  25.8 (78.4)  |  26.2 (79.2)  |  25.6 (78.1)  |  25.5 (77.9)  |  25.3 (77.5)  |  24.1 (75.4)  |  22.9 (73.2)  |  22.1 (71.8)  |  24.0 (75.2)  | 
| Record low °C (°F) | 15.2 (59.4)  |  13.5 (56.3)  |  14.9 (58.8)  |  19.9 (67.8)  |  19.7 (67.5)  |  20.4 (68.7)  |  21.0 (69.8)  |  20.2 (68.4)  |  20.4 (68.7)  |  19.4 (66.9)  |  16.7 (62.1)  |  16.7 (62.1)  |  13.5 (56.3)  | 
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 55 (2.2)  |  40 (1.6)  |  66 (2.6)  |  176 (6.9)  |  95 (3.7)  |  42 (1.7)  |  16 (0.6)  |  16 (0.6)  |  64 (2.5)  |  238 (9.4)  |  249 (9.8)  |  138 (5.4)  |  1,195 (47.0)  | 
| Average relative humidity (%) (at Daytime) | 70 | 66 | 67 | 71 | 74 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 75 | 76 | 75 | 72 | 
| Source 1: NOAA [10] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Department of Meteorology (records up to 2007)[11]  "Puttalam records from 2007 to 2021" (in French). Meteo Climat. Retrieved 25 August 2021.  | |||||||||||||
Notable people
- Sahan Adeesha - cricketer born in Puttalam
 - Abdul Baiz Kamardeen - politician, former Chairman of Puttalam Urban Council
 - Tariq Hisny - composer, born in Puttalam
 - H. S. Ismail - 5th Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
 - M. H. M. Naina Marikar - first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka as member for Puttalam
 - M. H. M. Navavi - politician, former Member of Parliament
 - Ali Sabri Raheem - politician, Member of Parliament
 - Hector Appuhamy - politician, Member of Parliament
 
References
- ^ "The Chairman of puttalam urban council died following a road accident".
 - ^ "Sri Lanka: Provinces, Districts, Divisional Secretariats, Cities - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts".
 - ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Puttalam". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
 - ^ "Puttalam Salt". www.puttalamsalt.lk. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
 - ^ [1]
 - ^ "Provincial Department of Education - North Western". nwpedu.lk. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
 - ^ "புத்தளம் பாத்திமாவின் புதிய அதிபராக கல்லூரியின் பழைய மாணவி பதவியேற்பு – Puttalam Online". Retrieved 2023-04-05.
 - ^ Sanoon, Text and pictures by M. U. M.; Corr, Puttalam TKN. "Eleven years of excellence". Daily News. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
 - ^ http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2012Visualization/htdocs/index.php?usecase=indicator&action=DSMap&indId=10&district=Puttalam&Legend=3# statistics.gov.lk
 - ^ "Puttalam Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 2022-03-05. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
 - ^ "Ever Recorded Daily Extreme Values" (PDF). Department of Meteorology. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
 
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