Last summer marks country’s hottest in 54 years

ISTANBUL

This year, Türkiye has basked in its warmest summer in 54 years, with average temperatures climbing from 24 degrees Celsius to a sweltering 26.1 degrees Celsius, a 2.1-degree rise.

This year’s June saw an average temperature of 25.4 degrees, 3.6 degrees higher than the average temperature for the years between 1991 and 2020.

Similarly, the average temperature in July was 26.7 degrees, 1.7 degrees higher than the norm throughout this time frame, with August’s temperature also experiencing a rise of 1.3 degrees and standing at 26.4 degrees.

Average summer temperatures exceeded the seasonal averages across the country’s Marmara region during this 3-month period. The southern Marmara province of Balıkesir witnessed the lowest temperature in the region, at 11.2 degrees, while the northwestern province of Edirne recorded the highest, at 41.4 degrees.

Average temperatures across the Aegean region were higher than seasonal averages, with the southwestern province of Aydın recording the highest temperature at 44.6 degrees.

In four locations of the Mediterranean region, average summer temperatures were near seasonal norms, with the remaining areas again experiencing temperatures above seasonal norms.

Kahramanmaraş’s Göksun had the lowest temperature in the region, at 6.2 degrees, while the southwestern resort city of Antalya’s Manavgat recorded the highest temperature at 44.7 degrees.

At the conclusion of this record-setting summer period, the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa recorded the highest temperature at 47.8 degrees, while the eastern city of Erzurum recorded the lowest at 1.6 degrees.