In İzmir, Türkiye’s third-largest metropolis, which lies on the Aegean coast, ranges in dam reservoirs sounded an alarm a couple of extreme drought and no prospects of precipitation within the close to future.
Climate change has been some of the vital urgent points affecting the complete world. This is very true for Türkiye as a consequence of its location. The Mediterranean Basin, the place Türkiye is positioned, is getting drier as a result of results of anthropogenic local weather change. As a end result, common temperatures are slowly creeping up and rainfall getting scarcer, thereby exacerbating the state of affairs.
The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change’s General Directorate of Meteorology Meteorological stated: “It was noticed that one a part of İzmir skilled a ‘very extreme drought‘ and the opposite half will expertise a ‘extreme drought’ quickly.”
Climate professional professor Doğan Yaşar, a school member at Dokuz Eylul University’s (DEU) Marine Sciences and Technology Institute, stated, “While Tahtalı Dam, the main water source of İzmir, was around 55% occupancy last year, today it has dropped to 39% occupancy rate, a 16% decrease. That means water for 200 days in İzmir. It’s a sign that Türkiye will suffer from the worst water shortages ever this summer.”
With the consequences of worldwide local weather change, the air temperature in İzmir was 3 levels Celsius (5.4 levels Fahrenheit) above the typical in comparison with the earlier years. There was a major lower within the variety of wet days and the quantity of rain per sq. meter in İzmir. The common variety of wet days, which was 13 in December, decreased to 6-7 days. Considering the quantity of precipitation per sq. meter in İzmir, 146.8 kilograms of rain fell per sq. meter on common in December, whereas this determine decreased by 31% in December final 12 months and was recorded as 101.3 kilograms. In the long-term common of January, 136.9 kilograms of precipitation fell per sq. meter, whereas 65.2 kilograms of precipitation fell per sq. meter because the starting of January.
“There is a very serious drought, as we have drained the underground waters. The lakes have dried up and look like deserts. Konya Plain has become riddled with sinkholes. More than 50 lakes and wetlands have dried up, and the most important resources of underground water are fed by wetlands and lakes. We couldn’t manage the water and then we put the blame on climate change,” Yaşar stated.
Temperatures above seasonal norms and the lower within the variety of wet days in İzmir additionally affected the occupancy charges of the dams that present İzmir’s consuming water wants. According to the info of the İzmir Water and Sewerage Administration General Directorate (İZSU), the occupancy price of the Tahtalı Dam, crucial consuming water supply of the town, was at 54.33% occupancy in the identical interval final 12 months and is now 39.95%. The occupancy price of the Balçova Dam, which was 46.96% full in the identical interval final 12 months, decreased to 29.28%, and the Ürkmez Dam from 75.1% to 39.26%. While Alaçatı Kutlu Aktaş Dam had an occupancy price of 74.1% in the identical interval final 12 months, this price decreased to 42.88%, and Güzelhisar Dam from 66.38% to 60.84%.
Pointing out that there will probably be a water scarcity in Türkiye this 12 months, Yaşar stated: “We had the hottest December and January of the last 52 years with no precipitation this year. The precipitation that fills the dams falls in December and January with an average of 146 kilograms. November, December, January and February are very important months for the dams but we have come to the end of January and still nothing. It is such a serious problem and this will result in water shortages this summer, consequently leading to serious agricultural drought.”
Yaşar stated that there’s a severe water administration drawback in Türkiye and shortly there will probably be a Water Management Law concerning water consumption enacted within the coming months. The water concern, particularly groundwater, will probably be below management. “We have to use the groundwater only in dry years, which we had to use today. There is no corn, especially in the southeast. Wheat and barley could not germinate. The crops may be uprooted and replanted again. The reason for all this is the mismanagement of water resources, and we blame climate change, unfortunately. We are to blame instead. We have to learn how to use water,” he emphasised.
“Unfortunately, Türkiye is one of the countries that will be most affected by climate change along with the Mediterranean region and countries located near the Mediterranean coast such as Spain, Italy and Greece. If you notice, the water budget per capita in these countries is also very limited. Therefore, water management is of strategic importance in these countries,” he underscored.
