Extreme Weather in Turkey



 Giant hailstones and torrential downpours leave the streets of Istanbul under water.

“Severe weather refers to events such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, ice storms, mountain windstorms, heat waves and dust storms…and are considered hazardous because of the energy they release and damage they are capable of causing,” according to Keller and De Vecchio in their textbook, Natural Hazards.

Here is an interesting news segment of scientists talking about recent incidents of severe weather in the U.S., and whether those are the result of extreme weather or climate change.  Although the length (24 minutes) is somewhat long, the interviews with a cadre of scientists from highly regarded scientific institutions throughout the U.S., along with insurance industry experts, as they strive to create extreme weather events in a huge lab, make for fascinating viewing:

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/techknow/2015/12/extreme-weather-coincidence-climate-change-151218142956224.html

The main factors that shape the climate of Turkey give us insight about the prospective changes in precipitation patterns. There are five factors that primarily shape the climate of Turkey:
  • General circulation of the atmosphere
  • The latitudinal location
  • Topography
  • Distance to moisture sources (mainly to the North Atlantic)
  • The seas around Turkey
A violent storm in July 2017 wreaked havoc on Istanbul, with heavy rain, flooding, strong winds of more than 60 MPH knocked down trees, and hail stones the size of golf balls, damaged buildings.  Ten people were injured because of the storm.

Over 7,000 emergency workers were activated to assist with recovery from the storm which injured 10 people, damaged 230 trees and uplifted an estimated 90 roofs.  This was the second storm in 10 days that caused injuries and damage throughout Istanbul.
Climates may be changing around the globe, but it appears that Turkey is experiencing climate change at a more rapid rate than that of other nations around the world:
 
Climate Change: Turkey & World

The single most important conclusion from this figure (above), however, is that the annual temperatures in Turkey are rising. A look at temperatures by season (graphic below) shows an even more detailed picture of how Turkey’s climate is changing:
 

Summer and fall temperatures, in particular, have increased over the past five decades in Turkey, including on the Konya Plain, which covers an area two times the size of Wales, and was once known as the Turkey’s “wheat house.”  However, dozens of lakes in the region have dried up due to severe drought, critically impacting the area's agriculture, wildlife and local communities.
The mountain glaciers of Turkey have been retreating at about 32.9 feet annually. In addition, the snow has begun to melt earlier in recent years, which raises the water level of the snow-fed rivers earlier in the year.
These, and other factors, are clear indications that Turkey is experiencing both extreme weather and climate change, and scientists agree that this trend is on the rise.
REFERENCES
Edward A. Keller & Duane E. DeVecchio, Natural Hazards: Earth’s Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes. 2015.

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/techknow/2015/12/extreme-weather-coincidence-climate-change-151218142956224.html

Lutfi Sen, Omer, Climate Change in Turkey (as part of the Mercator-IPC Fellowship Program)
http://climatechangeinturkey.com/climate-change-basics-how-does-the-climate-of-turkey-change.html

https://www.eea.europa.eu/soer/countries/tr/climate-change-mitigation-state-and


Comments

  1. UnknownApril 8, 2018 at 9:51 PM

    Hello Linda! Great post this week about extreme weather. I like how you included the graphs/ charts. Also, your ways that the climate is shaped around Turkey makes your post a lot easier to understand when you are talking about the weather. Great post and keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete

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