Istanbul to witness snowfall in mid-January: Expert

ISTANBUL

While Türkiye spent the last two months of 2023 with temperatures above seasonal norms, experts have announced that the trend will not continue in the first month of the year, and cold temperatures and snowfall will prevail across the country from mid-January.

"Air temperatures have been above average in recent months. However, a cold air wave is coming on Jan. 10-11. This wave will also cause snowfall in Istanbul. Cold weather is coming where temperatures can drop up to 5-6 degrees Celsius. I predict that this weather wave will bring snow to Istanbul,” said prominent meteorologist Orhan Şen, explaining that the lack of precipitation in recent months should be taken into account.

"There will be winter in January and February. It has nothing to do with 2023 being the hottest year or global warming. We will report the severity of the winter and the amount of precipitation in the coming days," he said.

"In the city where so many people live, the temperature is 3-4 degrees Celsius higher than the surrounding cities and this heat island system prevents snowfall in big cities. However, according to my prediction, there will be snowfall in Istanbul around Jan. 10,” he added.

According to the latest assessments made by the Turkish State Meteorology Service, the central and western parts of Türkiye are expected to be mostly cloudy, with intermittent downpours in Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean regions, while the rest of the country is expected to be partly cloudy and clear.

Tekirdağ, Edirne, Kırklareli, Çanakkale and Balıkesir provinces of the Marmara region are predicted to experience intermittent showers, while haze and fog is expected throughout the region.