Global warming ‘to gravely influence evaporation rate in Black Sea region’

ISTANBUL

With the rising impact of global warming and climate change, the Black Sea region will experience increased evaporation that would potentially surpass precipitation in less than a decade, affecting the region’s unique agricultural production, an expert has warned.

Mikdat Kadıoğlu stated that the Black Sea region, which faced heavy rainfall and floods causing loss of lives and serious damage in 2023, would enter a process of grave evaporation starting from 2040. The most recent flood caused 5.5 million Turkish Liras ($207,000) worth of damage in Rize.

Noting that the production of agricultural products such as tea, hazelnut and corn grown in the Black Sea region is in danger as the need for irrigation in agriculture will rise. Kadıoğlu suggested the construction of freshwater reservoirs to mitigate water loss and counteract drought.

"In the Black Sea region, precipitation is higher than evaporation every month throughout the year. Therefore, the need for irrigation is low, but even if precipitation increases slightly with the warming, the increase in evaporation will be higher than precipitation in 2040, especially in July. Then there will be a need for irrigation in soil that will be water deficit," Kadıoğlu said.

As part of the measures taken against climate change, Kadıoğlu recommended a ban on water-intensive tropical plantations.

Despite recent popularity due to high financial returns, tropical fruits are not suitable for the country’s climate, he said.

"We are not a water-rich country; in fact, we are semi-arid. Hence, tropical plant cultivation must be prohibited. Tropical plants rely on tropical rainfall, which doesn't align with our climate. People mistakenly assume our climate is shifting towards tropical due to high temperatures. Yet, they overlook a crucial fact: Tropical climates have daily rainfall, which is not the case here,” Kadıoğlu noted.