Precipitation across Turkey at its lowest level in 24 years

According to the January 2025 Areal Precipitation Report by the Turkish State Meteorological Service, the amount of precipitation recorded across Turkey in January remained well below the long-term average and the same period last year.

While the average January precipitation for the 1991-2020 period was determined to be 69.8 kilograms per square meter, this amount had risen to 87.5 kilograms in January 2024. However, in January 2025, precipitation showed a significant decline, measured at only 26.8 kilograms per square meter.

The rates of decline in precipitation reached remarkable levels. Across the country, there was 62 percent less precipitation compared to the long-term average and 69 percent less compared to January of last year. Thus, January 2025 precipitation occurred at its lowest level in 24 years.

PRECIPITATION LOSS EXCEEDED 80 PERCENT IN SOME REGIONS

While precipitation across the country fell below normal in all regions, the largest losses were seen in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean, the Southeastern Anatolia Region, the Eastern Anatolia Region (excluding the surroundings of Van, Ardahan, and Kars), as well as Konya, Karaman, Niğde, Kayseri, and Sivas. In these regions, the decrease in precipitation exceeded 80 percent.

RECORD-LEVEL DECREASE IN SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA

When evaluated by region, it was determined that all regions received precipitation below their long-term averages. The largest decline occurred in the Southeastern Anatolia Region with a rate of 94 percent.

The lowest January precipitation in the last 65 years was recorded for the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions, and the lowest in the last 33 years for the Mediterranean Region.

When examined on a provincial basis, it was observed that the precipitation amounts of all provinces across Turkey remained below both normal levels and last year's figures. The lowest precipitation amount was recorded in Adana with 2.3 kilograms per square meter. Adana was also the province that experienced the highest loss of precipitation at 98 percent.

PROVINCES SHOWING RECORD DECLINES

Among the provinces where the lowest precipitation amounts were recorded in January, Adana, Adıyaman, Erzincan, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Karaman, Kilis, Malatya, Mersin, Osmaniye, and Şırnak stand out. The lowest January precipitation in the last 65 years was recorded in these provinces. While Konya experienced its driest January in the last 61 years, the lowest January precipitation in the last 54 years was seen in Bingöl, Bitlis, Siirt, Tunceli, and Van, and the lowest in the last 36 years was seen in Batman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Hakkari, Iğdır, Mardin, Muş, and Şanlıurfa.

NUMBER OF RAINY DAYS DECREASED

While an average of 11.7 days of precipitation was observed in January between 1991 and 2020, this duration fell to an average of 7.6 days in January 2025. The number of rainy days ranged between 15-20 days in the south of Marmara, the Black Sea coasts, the coastal parts of the Aegean Region, and some places in the northwest of Central Anatolia.

However, the number of rainy days dropped to as low as 1 day in the Southeastern Anatolia Region and in Elazığ, Malatya, Kahramanmaraş, Konya, Karaman, Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kars, and Iğdır. These data indicate that the risk of drought across the country could reach serious dimensions.

News Source: AA