Farmers in Sri Lanka are watching their wells run dry. The island nation has been stuck in drought for months, AP reported Thursday. Reservoirs have emptied and farm families that depend on the rains are struggling.

"We feel like we are being hit from every side," said Samantha Pushpakumara, a farmer in Medirigiriya, in north-central Sri Lanka. He returned to his village to farm after the country's long civil war ended. "If there is no water and we have to give up farming, we will have nothing left to live on."

Sri Lanka gets its rain from two monsoon seasons. The southwest monsoon, which runs about May to September, normally brings up to 30% of the year's rainfall. This year, very little rain fell through late September, AP said. Temperatures in many areas have also been higher than usual, and high humidity has made the heat worse.

Climate experts say the dry spell is likely due in part to a strong El Niño, a natural warming of Pacific waters that shifts weather around the world. Warmer temperatures driven partly by human-caused climate change add to it.

Scientists are careful about blame. "We cannot say exactly whether it's due to climate change, since we need more evidence," said Gayana Krishanthi Hendawitharana, a climate scientist at Sri Lanka's weather department. "But these kinds of events are increasing in recent years."

Some recent showers have helped a little, but not enough to refill water supplies. Farmers face big losses and debts. In wildlife reserves, animals are crowding around shrinking water holes and suffering from thirst and heat stress.

The worst may not be over. The World Meteorological Organization said Thursday that El Niño is strengthening fast and should peak around December. Its outlook calls for drier-than-normal conditions across the Indian subcontinent from October through December, Anadolu Agency reported.

What we know: Sri Lanka's drought has emptied reservoirs and hurt farmers and wildlife.
What we don't: How much rain the second monsoon season will bring.