Türkiye sees driest August in over three decades

ISTANBUL

With the ongoing El Niño phenomenon and global warming driving scorching weather around the globe, Türkiye has experienced its driest August in the past 33 years.

As temperature records were shattered this summer in Türkiye and around the world, the August precipitation report from the Turkish State Meteorological Service revealed that rainfall in the past month fell significantly below normal levels.

In August, when an average of 6.4 millimeters of rainfall was recorded, there was a 57 percent decrease compared to the normal August average of 14.8 millimeters and a 60 percent decrease compared to the August rainfall of 2022, which was 16.1 millimeters.

Last month's rainfall remained below the average determined based on the years between 1991 and 2021 in all seven regions of the country.

Surprisingly, when compared to August of the previous year, an increase in rainfall was observed only in the normally driest regions of the country, the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions.

According to the meteorological drought status map prepared for August using the Percent of Normal Index (PNI), the Marmara Region and nearly the entire Black Sea region were classified as “severe drought sites.”

The province where rainfall decreased the most in the country was the northern province of Amasya, with a remarkable 96-percent reduction.