Our 'new normal' in the climate crisis and what needs to be done

For the past month, we have been introduced to a heatwave of a magnitude we have never experienced before in our lives.

In a previous article, I stated that “in our country, where extreme heat is not yet seen as a disaster, neither precautions are being taken nor are the necessary warnings being issued.” After nearly a month of record-breaking scorching temperatures, a statement finally came from the Ministry of Health yesterday, and warnings were issued for cardiovascular and hypertension patients. While many countries are taking different measures and changing their routines with urgent decisions, an authorized institution in our country has only been able to issue a written statement after weeks!

Due to extreme heat, historic records in electricity consumption are being broken in many countries. Increased water consumption is bringing occupancy rates in dams to critical levels.

All signs and concrete examples regarding the climate crisis have permeated every aspect of our lives. However, the problems that experts in the field emphasize in our country never seem to turn into concrete decisions and measures.

THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND THE PROBLEMS AWAITING ISTANBUL

Important statements by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu regarding the risk the climate crisis poses for Istanbul were reflected in the press yesterday. In his speech at the “Mayors Summit for Ecological Transition” he attended in Paris, İmamoğlu said, “Istanbul is becoming Europe’s most vulnerable coastal city against climate change.”

According to the statement by İmamoğlu, who noted that Istanbul will face increasingly severe weather events according to future projections, we have left behind the hottest June of the last 175 years. It is not difficult to predict that July will be no different.

At this critical summit in Paris, İmamoğlu described the extent to which Istanbul is affected by the climate crisis with these words:

“Every year, we experience hotter summers; record-breaking high and low temperatures have become our new normal. However, this new reality carries different meanings for climate-sensitive cities like Istanbul. The geographical location and characteristics of Istanbul, located in the Mediterranean basin, make it particularly sensitive to climate change, turning it into Europe’s most vulnerable coastal city in this regard.”

A NEW PROBLEM ON ISTANBUL’S RISK MAP

Thus, a new link of problems has been added to the risk map of Istanbul, where nearly 20 million people live and which is our most at-risk city in the event of a major earthquake.

With earthquakes, excessive urbanization, traffic, and so on, Istanbul is now standing out as a disadvantaged city in terms of the climate crisis as well. As İmamoğlu said, the climate crisis needs to be among the top priorities of mayors.

So, what percentage of municipalities are conducting such studies regarding their own cities and towns concerning the climate crisis? I believe that the most important change and difference in the understanding of municipalism and service in the coming period will be determined by the reflexes shown toward the climate crisis.

One of the issues Ekrem İmamoğlu emphasized in Paris is that the cost of losses caused by climate change will reach 200 million dollars annually by 2030. According to this projection, losses resulting from rising sea levels and storm surges will cost millions of dollars annually.

THE CLIMATE CRISIS DEEPENS SOCIAL INEQUALITIES

One of the most important emphases in İmamoğlu’s speech was on how the problems experienced regarding the climate further deepen existing social inequalities in societies.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cavit Işık Yavuz, a faculty member at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, and an environmental health expert, whose opinion I sought regarding the problems we are experiencing with climate change and proposed solutions, reminds us that the climate crisis is a multi-dimensional problem. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz underscores that it is necessary to look at the issue as an individual, societal, and global problem.

Stating that metro power stations in Ankara were affected by extreme heat the other day, causing services to be disrupted and even stopped, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz summarizes the new era that has begun following the World Meteorological Organization’s announcement that the 1.5-degree critical threshold in global warming has now been exceeded by saying, “This is our new normal now.”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz says, “Countries or regions cannot cope with this issue alone. It is increasingly layering as a global problem. If you pay attention, the latest data on climate change is not encouraging at all. We are heading toward a different era from now on. It seems we will experience the problems caused by climate change more intensely.”

WE WILL EXPERIENCE CLIMATIC PROBLEMS MORE INTENSELY!

Where do we stand as a country while the world is passing through a critical threshold? Why are decision-making mechanisms not taking action? Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz answers as follows:

“As a public health expert, we see that the warnings issued from time to time regarding heatwaves, the regulation of working hours we have seen in past years, and measures such as granting administrative leave to risk groups are not being taken. We see no implementation, especially in our provinces with extreme heat. Frankly, I am surprised by this.

There are two concepts we use in public health; the issue of being prepared and being resilient/durable. We need to look for ways to ensure this, but the problem and the solution here cannot be left to the individual alone. In fact, we must design societal and public measures before the individual. I think this is the issue where we are lacking as a country.

When we enter a period full of such extremes—extreme weather events where everything is extreme, extreme heat—it is not a good thing for the public that we are so sluggish. When there is so much extremity, we also need to give an extreme reaction.”

I think we have been familiar with this state of being unable to give a normal reaction to abnormal situations, which Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cavit Işık Yavuz mentions, since the pandemic period. However, these and similar issues should not be viewed as temporary agenda items to be focused on for a few weeks. It is necessary to explain that the climate crisis is a problem that covers 365 days and concerns everyone.

RISK GROUPS SHOULD BE GRANTED LEAVE IN EXTREMELY HOT PROVINCES

Stating that it is essential to reorganize working hours, break times, and nutritional contents, which directly concern the health of employees in hot weather, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz also draws attention to the problems that may arise in terms of public health if necessary precautions are not taken.

“Rising temperatures pose a serious health threat. We need to talk about what measures will be taken for risk groups, what measures will be taken in daily life, and at what level we will take what measures, from public transport to working hours, from health institutions to municipalities. Turkey now needs a ‘heatwave action plan.’ This needs to be created by public institutions as soon as possible,” says Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cavit Işık Yavuz, providing the following information about what needs to be done:

“Heatwaves caused approximately 62 thousand deaths in Europe last year, some of which occurred within a few weeks. Countries are preparing action plans against extreme heat. A preparation plan that will be put into effect in stages should also be made in our country. To mitigate the effects of heat that emerges with humidity, you must put certain plans into effect at certain levels.

There is a concept called urban heat island, and we are suffocating in more heat in cities. High-rise structures and concrete buildings increase and trap heat in such a way that they create an urban heat island effect. There is a need for green corridors in cities. As long as we do not provide these, our job in Turkey seems even more difficult.

Once upon a time, we had Hygiene Boards (Hıfzıssıhha Kurulları) in our provinces. They were the institutions with the most important sanctions regarding health in the province. In past years, General Hygiene Boards would make decisions for things like snow days, for example. Administrative leave for pregnant women, the elderly, and those with chronic illnesses during extreme heat would come from these boards.

Why are we not operating these boards?

Even if it is not necessary nationwide, if you see such a risk in your own province, especially if the meteorology has warned on days when humidity is very high, for example, on the Mediterranean coast, these boards should easily be able to make decisions. But we have started to see that this is being used less and less.

These measures should be brought to the agenda and proposed primarily by the Ministry of Health and provincial health directorates. Therefore, we cannot cope with these issues by delegating the problem to the individual.

HEATWAVES HIT HEART PATIENTS FIRST

When looking at death statistics, heart diseases are among the leading causes. Heatwaves also hit cardiovascular patients first. We are a country with a high burden of chronic diseases.

Our population over 65 is around 10 percent; perhaps we are not as fragile as the European population, but we have a structure that will age rapidly in the coming years. I think we are unfortunately entering this period unprepared and unprotected.

We need to put potential problems on the country’s agenda and produce better measures and mechanisms that will increase our resilience, and most importantly, implement them.

In 2003, when heatwaves caused very serious deaths, 70 thousand people lost their lives in Europe over a period of a few weeks. 14 thousand people died in France alone.

Those working outdoors and athletes constitute risk groups during heatwaves. Therefore, it is necessary to make special arrangements for these groups.”

KIDNEY DISEASES WILL INCREASE IN THE NEAR FUTURE

Stating that it is predicted that kidney diseases will increase and appear much more frequently in the coming years along with the effects of extreme heat, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz explained the reason for this as follows:

“It is estimated that kidney damage caused by water loss due to temperature increases will be seen more. It is even said that there will be a ‘nephropathy epidemic’ because the lost water cannot be replaced.

If the central authority does not point out such risks, does not show protective measures, and does not express to people that this is a problem that should be taken seriously, they do not see it as a risk because they do not perceive it.”

REMOTE WORK CAN BE SWITCHED TO IN EXTREME HEAT

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz’s suggestions for facilitating daily life, especially on extremely hot days, are as follows:

“Air conditioning systems in public buildings such as hospitals and schools that are used collectively now need to be designed in a serious manner. Due to extreme heat, the medical condition of a patient lying in a hospital may worsen, a different clinical picture may develop, and treatment becomes difficult. In schools, extreme heat reduces performance. It negatively affects both the student and the teacher.

The working hours of the Mediterranean Region and the Black Sea Region are the same. Different arrangements can be made for different jobs regionally. Measures can be taken gradually, especially for risk groups. As the temperature rises, for example, pregnant women could work 4 hours on extremely hot days. Again, remote work, which we experienced during the pandemic, can be brought to the agenda. It can be done in the public and private sectors on certain days and weeks. It can be planned as two days of remote work and 3 days of face-to-face work per week.”

THE POOR ARE AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT RISK GROUPS

Saying “The poor are one of the most important risk groups during heatwaves,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cavit Işık Yavuz gives examples of practices abroad for disadvantaged groups and says the following:

“The poor cannot buy air conditioning for their homes, cannot cool down, and cannot protect themselves from heatwaves. In many countries, for disadvantaged and fragile groups, poor individuals who live alone and do not have air conditioning during heatwaves are identified and hosted in air-conditioned buildings for a certain period.

There is a concept called energy poverty. Recently, especially the inflation experienced in energy, and price increases in natural gas, electricity, and fuel are driving people into energy poverty. This also leads to negative health effects, which is again related to heatwaves. People have no option other than air conditioning, especially in extremely hot regions. But it has a serious financial burden; if they cannot afford this, then other problems arise.

In our country, who will identify the risk groups, the poor in the low-income group who do not have air conditioning in their homes, and take them from their homes and provide them with a cool environment? We need to start from here.

For this reason, it is necessary to examine every dimension of this issue in detail and not ignore it.”

On the other hand, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cavit Işık Yavuz also states that the root cause of climate change and weather change in Turkey is fossil fuel and automobile dependency.

The number of automobiles has tripled in the last 20 years; according to June 2024 data, there are 30 percent gasoline, 35 percent diesel, and 33 percent LPG automobiles. Hybrid vehicle usage is below 2 percent, and electric vehicle usage is below 1 percent. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz says; “Because there is neither an incentive nor encouragement. Turkey does not seem to be at a point where it can save itself from fossil fuel dependency right now.”