The driest March in the last 35 years: Rainfall in Turkey is sounding the alarm!

According to the 2025 March Areal Precipitation Report data from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change's General Directorate of Meteorology, the long-term average rainfall for March was 61.2 kilograms per square meter.

Last March, 69.5 kilograms of rainfall per square meter were recorded. This year, the amount of rainfall for the same period remained at 28.8 kilograms. There was a 53 percent decrease in rainfall compared to the norm and a 59 percent decrease compared to March of last year.

Turkey experienced its lowest March rainfall in the last 35 years.

In March, rainfall decreased by more than 80 percent compared to the norm in the vicinities of İzmir, Aydın, Muğla, Denizli, Manisa, Uşak, Burdur, Eskişehir, Ankara, Kırıkkale, Çankırı, Çorum, Adana, Hatay, and Kilis, as well as the eastern parts of Antalya, while an increase of over 40 percent was observed in the northern parts of Erzincan and Erzurum.

Across the regions, all areas received less rainfall than their norms and last year's figures, with the largest decrease compared to the norm occurring in the Aegean Region at 79 percent. The lowest rainfall in the last 65 years was recorded in the Aegean Region, 39 years in the Marmara Region, 35 years in the Central Anatolia Region, and 32 years in the Black Sea Region.

AVERAGE OF 6.4 RAINY DAYS IN MARCH

The lowest rainfall across the provinces was seen in Ankara with 5.1 kilograms per square meter, and the highest was in Tunceli with 89.2 kilograms per square meter.

In March rainfall, the highest increase compared to the norm occurred in Erzincan with 35 percent, while the largest decrease occurred in Manisa with 91 percent.

The lowest March rainfall in the last 65 years was recorded in Aksaray, Ankara, Çankırı, Denizli, Hatay, İzmir, Kırıkkale, and Manisa; 63 years in Van; 53 years in Kırşehir; 42 years in Balıkesir; 39 years in Bolu, Çorum, Eskişehir, İstanbul, Karabük, Karaman, Kastamonu, Konya, and Kütahya; 36 years in Bartın, Kocaeli, and Sakarya; and 35 years in Amasya and Tokat.

While the number of rainy days across Turkey was calculated as 11.3 days in the 1991-2020 average, it was 6.4 days on average in March.

In March, the number of rainy days dropped to as low as 1 day in the vicinities of İzmir, Manisa, Uşak, Aydın, Mersin, Karaman, Adana, Hatay, Ankara, Çankırı, Çorum, Kırıkkale, and Eskişehir. It was observed in the range of 15-20 days in the vicinities of Kırklareli, Çanakkale, Balıkesir, Ordu, Giresun, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, Rize, Artvin, and Bingöl.

News Source: AA