Much-awaited rain to bring respite from drought

ISTANBUL

Amid a severe drought following a scorching summer and unseasonably warm weather persisting across the country until the last month of autumn, weather conditions are beginning to shift with precipitation expected to affect many cities, primarily provinces in the Marmara and Aegean regions, the Turkish State Meteorological Service has said.

The latest weather report from the bureau indicated that the long-anticipated rainfall, particularly crucial for cities experiencing grave drought, such as Istanbul with its 19 million residents and the tourism hub of Bodrum, has finally arrived. Following the concerns regarding critically low water levels in dams and a prolonged period of drought looming since September, the bureau noted that rainfall is likely to continue steadily for some time.

The Marmara and Aegean regions will experience rainy weather for five days, the report pointed out.

With the onset of rain showers, a drop in temperatures is also expected. Additionally, the bureau has issued a warning of storms for the provinces in the Eastern Black Sea region.

According to the weather forecast, rainy conditions with a temperature of 21 degrees will prevail in the capital Ankara and Istanbul, and 23 degrees in the western province of İzmir.

The bureau’s weather prediction report comes following remarks from Professor Dr. Levent Kurnaz, the director of the Climate Policies Research Center at Boğaziçi University, who emphasized the critical importance of the first 15 days of November in terms of water levels in Istanbul dams.

Kurnaz mentioned that if rain does not fall in Istanbul for another 15 days, the city could face water shortages.

As of Nov. 8, the water level in Istanbul's dams dropped to a record low of 16.83 percent, marking the lowest level in the past decade.

"The water situation in Istanbul has reached a critical point. There may come days when water usage is restricted to 25 liters per person as Istanbul simply doesn't have enough water. There is no more water to be taken from the dams on the European side. Hence, water is being transferred from the Asian side to the European side."

"Even if it rains normally across all of Istanbul's dams and catchment areas and they fill to capacity, it will only be sufficient for approximately 7 million people. The rest of the population will require additional water supply."