Extreme weather events intensify in country: Expert

ISTANBUL

The climate change, as in the rest of the world, is taking a heavy toll on Türkiye as extreme weather events in the country are on the rise, an expert has warned, while stressing that cities should stay prepared to face sudden events such as flash floods in the coming years.

Academic Ceyhun Özçelik from Muğla Sıtkı Kocaman University stated that despite reaching the middle of June, heavy rainfall continues and will persist for a while, saying, “Such extreme weather events have become the new normal for the country’s climate.”

“From the beginning of September last year to the middle of April, the country faced a significant drought. Currently, we are experiencing a period of intense rainfall,” Özçelik said.

“Even though we are in the middle of June, we are facing very serious heavy rainfall in almost every part of the country,” he noted.

Pointing out that there has been a change in the precipitation regime due to climate change, Özçelik said that major deviations in rainfall and weather activities have been observed across the country due to this change.

“Especially our metropolitan cities and urban areas need to be prepared for the effects of climate change. Impact of floods should be their primary concern in this term,” the expert warned.

Particularly at the points where natural drainage lines intersect with cities, floods can gravely disrupt daily life, he said, stressing that excessive amount of precipitation also impacts agricultural
production.

Though heavy rainfall affects agricultural activities positively to some extent as it feeds underground water resources, excessive precipitation causes decay and erosion of plant roots, Özçelik noted.