Relatively warm weather concerns experts

ISTANBUL

A relatively warm spell that has been pervading Istanbul and Turkey’s western coasts for months, despite the fact that it’s the middle of winter, concerns experts.

According to the models of climate researchers and experts, there is an average temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius in Turkey until 2035, which indicates that a serious drought threat is at hand.

Orhan Şen, a meteorologist from Istanbul Technical University, stressed that the heatwave in the Mediterranean has moved to the north, and the western part of the country has still not been affected by the cold airwave that should hail from the Balkans by this time.

“Temperatures are often 4 to 5 degrees above the average,” he said.

Levent Kurnaz, a physicist and climate expert from Boğaziçi University, said that there is a fluctuating temperature chart on the western coasts of Turkey, especially in Istanbul.

“Average temperatures have increased due to global climate change. However, the most important point is that the severity of weather events caused by the climate crisis has intensified,” he noted.