Climate change hits Turkey: Drought is at the door

Prof. Dr. Şermin Tağıl, a faculty member in the Department of Geography at İzmir Bakırçay University, announced that Turkey is facing a serious risk of temperature increases and drought this summer season. Tağıl stated that the effects of climate change are now being felt more clearly, and that drought and extreme temperatures have become a strong possibility during the summer months.

According to data from the General Directorate of Meteorology of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the average temperature for January in Turkey, which was 2.9 degrees between 1991 and 2020, rose to 5.5 degrees in January 2025. This data was recorded as the third-hottest January in the last 55 years.

In Turkey, where heat waves were effective throughout 2024, days reminiscent of the summer season were experienced on March 15-16. Temperature records were broken in 13 provinces and 17 districts in March. The 31.1 degrees measured in İzmir on March 15 was the highest temperature recorded in March since 1938.

2025 WILL BE HOTTER

However, temperatures began to drop across Turkey in April. Snowfall and cold weather were effective in many regions. Due to temperatures dropping below zero, agricultural frost occurred in some provinces, and agricultural products were damaged.

Experts predict that after the extraordinary temperatures seen in 2024, the summer of 2025 will also be extremely hot and dry. It is stated that this situation could have significant effects on agriculture, water resources, and daily life.

IT WILL BE EFFECTIVE IN THE SECOND HALF OF SUMMER

Emphasizing that temperature records could be broken in the summer according to the medium and long-term weather forecasts of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Tağıl made the following assessments:

"Climate prediction models suggest that the summer of 2025 could be one of the hottest and driest periods for Turkey in recent years. Especially in the April-June period, a hot and rainless period due to the influence of high atmospheric pressure systems appears as a significant possibility.

Turkey is expected to come under the influence of a high-pressure system carrying hot air during the summer months. This high pressure will become more persistent in the second half of the summer, increasing the transport of hot air from the south and significantly reducing the amount of precipitation.

Drought conditions will worsen across the country, including the Black Sea Region. The models also show that sea surface temperatures will increase by 1.5 to 1.8 degrees compared to last year.

This increase will lead to a decrease in atmospheric humidity and a further drop in precipitation."

News Source: 12punto