Turkey in the midst of climate change, says climate expert

ISTANBUL

Climate change and global warming can lead to aggravated problems in Turkey as it is in the middle of it, with a likelihood of huge financial losses in the coming future, a prominent climate expert has warned.

“For some time, winters in Turkey are tropical winters. We are living the effects of global climate change. We are in the middle of it,” said Murat Türkeş, also a member of the board of Boğaziçi University’s Center for Climate Change and Policy Studies.

Speaking of the overtemperature, drought and flood cases that Turkey has been facing lately, Türkeş warned that the country could face huge financial losses in the coming future.

“We have the statistics, climate change and global warming have hit us. We face a loss of millions of dollars. Even new great damages await,” Türkeş told daily Hürriyet on Oct. 9.

According to the climate expert, Turkey has been suffering from global warming since the 1970s.

“The first damage occurred in agriculture. Villagers in those days left their homelands and migrated to the big cities as they could not get products from the land due to climate change. Ths situation got worse in the 80s and peaked in the 90s.”

Türkeş marked 1994 as the year of climate change in Turkey.

“Since 1994, average, highest day temperatures, even the highest night temperatures skyrocketed,” added the climate expert.

Reminding “tropical winters,” Türkeş noted that the number of the “summer days” were increasing in Turkey.

“Dense housing and asphalt roads are the main reasons. They absorb the day heat and release it at night. So temperatures during nights increased. Those who love to sit on balconies in the big cities would easily feel and tell you the difference.”