Provinces in Turkey’s west grappled with storms on Monday that claimed six lives as authorities warned of more adverse weather – a phenomenon experts tie to climate change.
Authorities announced that Turkey would be put through another day of heavy storms, strong winds and high precipitation on Tuesday. Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS) issued warnings for 67 of the 81 provinces, forecasting extreme weather conditions, from rainfall to strong winds and storms. The country was rocked by a strong southwester which hit the Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean regions, as well as parts of the Black Sea region on Monday. Turkish Airlines (THY) announced on Tuesday that the bad weather had caused delays in domestic flights but ruled out an all-out cancellation of air travel. THY press adviser Yahya Üstün tweeted that strong winds were affecting the carrier’s operations and causing disruptions.
Four people were killed in Istanbul, another in Zonguldak and one in Kocaeli provinces, when collapsing walls, roofs and fragments from buildings trembled with the force of strong gusts and rained down on passersby. Many others were injured.
Storms are becoming more common in the country which saw the highest number of weather-related disasters in 2020, mostly floods. Experts blame climate change as the main culprit for the changing weather conditions. Last year, the country recorded 984 weather-related disasters whose impact and length were worse than previous years.
TSMS warned of heavy rainfall from the country’s west to the east on Tuesday while temperatures were set to drop by up to 8 degrees Celsius (14.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the country’s northern, central and western regions.
