Heavy snowfall blankets country’s eastern provinces

ERZURUM/ VAN

The country’s eastern provinces have been battling heavy snowfall that has already blocked roads in remote regions, as snow depth exceeds 20 centimeters in the high-altitude sites of Van and Erzurum.

Heavy snowfall has been occurring in the eastern provinces, especially Erzurum and Van, throughout the region, the Turkish State Meteorological Service has announced, adding fog and haze are also expected.

In Erzurum, where the air temperature dropped to 10 degrees below zero, municipal teams took measures against icing on roads in order to prevent accidents.

Some roads in the remote parts of the province were blocked due to heavy snow.

The snow thickness in the Palandöken Ski Center, one of the leading ski resorts in the country, reached 25 centimeters.

Citizens living in Erzurum stated that cold weather similar to last year’s winter season, in which extremely cold temperatures were experienced, has begun to be observed, saying, “It’s very cold right now. If a significant amount of snow is seen, the temperature might start to get warmer.”

In Van, where sunny weather has been prevailing for a while, heavy snowfall began as of the morning of Jan. 8. Though snowfall occurred for a very short time, the snow thickness reached 5 centimeters in the city center and 20 centimeters in the higher parts.

The municipal teams started working to prevent roads from being closed in rural neighborhoods.

Snow removal teams in the İpekyolu Municipality also cleaned the snow on the sidewalk via shovels whereas some roads in remote locations were blocked due to snow.

The authorities warned drivers not to take the road unless absolutely necessary.

A citizen walking in the snowfall said, “The beauty of Van can appear with snow. This year, the water level of Lake Van decreased due to drought. We hope that snow will fall and water resources will be plentiful.”

Apart from Erzurum and Van, the bureau stated that heavy snowfall is also expected in other 39 provinces, including the capital Ankara.

In the Black Sea region, meteorologists expected sleet throughout the week.

In Istanbul, the dense fog that has blanketed the city since last week will disappear this week. Heavy rains are expected throughout the week in the western provinces of İzmir, Aydın, Muğla, and Denizli and the southern provinces of Antalya, Isparta and Burdur.

Experts warned that heavy rainfall could cause flooding in these regions, and residents should exercise caution against possible disasters.