Turkey Received The Lowest January Precipitation in The Last 22 Years
January precipitation was the lowest in the last 22 years in Turkey.
Last month, precipitation across Turkey decreased by 52 percent compared to normal and remained at the lowest level in the last 22 years.
According to the data compiled from the January 2023 Spatial Precipitation Report of the General Directorate of Meteorology of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the average precipitation in January covering the 1991-2020 period was 69.8 kilograms per square meter.
The amount of precipitation, which was 87.3 kilograms per square meter in January last year, remained at the lowest level of the last 22 years with 33.2 kilograms last month. Januaryprecipitation in Turkey was recorded below the January normal and amount of last year. Whileprecipitation decreased by 52 percent in January compared to normal, it decreased by 62 percent compared to Januaryprecipitation last year.
Rainfall across the region remained below normal levels. The highest decrease was recorded in the Southeastern Anatolia Region with 74 percent. While precipitation was slightly higher than normal in the west of the Çanakkale-Antalya line, it decreased in the east. The rate of decline in Kars, Ardahan, Erzurum environs, the Eastern Mediterranean, the north and south of Central Anatolia, the northeast of Eastern Anatolia, and around Şırnak, Mardin and Şanlıurfa exceeded 80 percent.
In January, the highest precipitation fell to Antalya with 145 kilograms, and the least to Kars with 4.7 kilograms. Compared to normals, the highest decrease in precipitation was recorded in Çankırı with 87 percent, and the highest increase was recorded in Burdur with 31 percent.
While the average number of rainy days between 1991 and 2020 was calculated as 11.7 days, the number of rainy days in Turkey was calculated as 7.3 days last month.
The number of rainy days is 3 days or less in Eastern Central Anatolia and Eastern Anatolia and around Mardin, Şırnak, Batman, and 10-15 days in Şanlıurfa, Samsun, Antalya, Muğla, Manisa, İzmir, Balıkesir and Bursa areas. and the northern parts of the Marmara Region. observed during the day.
With the decrease in precipitation in Turkey in January, drought also showed itself.
According to the meteorological drought analyzes obtained in quarterly periods, the provinces affected by the severe drought defined as “extraordinary drought” are listed as follows:
“Tekirdağ, Çanakkale and Balıkesir coasts, Istanbul coasts, Yalova and Kocaeli, Düzce, Sakarya, Bilecik, Eskişehir, Kütahya, Afyonkarahisar and Isparta vicinity, east of Ankara, Kırıkkale, Kırşehir, Aksaray, Nevşehir, Çankırı, Konya, Karaman surroundings, Rize and Bayburt and east of Erzincan, Kars, Muş, Bitlis and Siirt, east of Van, Mersin coast and interior of Osmaniye.