50.5 degrees Celsius is the highest temperature ever recorded in Turkey
Turkey’s environment ministry reported on Saturday that meteorologists had recorded a reading of 50.5C in the southeast of the country, setting a national record, while 132 weather stations nationally recorded record temperatures. According to a ministry post on X, the record temperature was recorded at Silopi on Friday.
Additionally, the statement noted that 132 meteorological stations nationwide recorded record temperatures for July. temperatures in Antalya city reached 46.1 degrees Celsius, the highest recorded since 1930.
The province of Sirnak contains Silopi, which is only 10 kilometers (six miles) from Turkey’s borders with Syria and Iraq. Several villages in the northern Turkish provinces of Karabuk, Sakarya, and Bilecik had to be evacuated due to blazes that were also reported there.
wildfire claimes 13 lives
13 individuals lost their lives battling a wild fire in the western Turkish province of Eskisehir on Wednesday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that Turkey was ‘fronted with a truly big calamity’ following Friday prayers.
According to him, 25,000 personnel were battling fires nationwide with the help of 6,000 ground vehicles, 105 helicopters, and 27 airplanes.
In August 2023, the previous high temperature record was 49.5°C.
The nation is battling flames in several areas and is now experiencing a heatwave.
Several residents have had to be evacuated as firefighters in the northern Karabuk province have been fighting to contain one for the past four days.
Ten people lost their lives battling a fire in Province of Eskisehir. Some local authorities, notably the beach resort of Cesme, near Izmir on Turkey’s west coast, have announced water use restrictions due to the heatwave, which is predicted to continue for many more days. Greece, a neighbor, is also dealing with a heat wave and flames in several regions.
A heat wave strikes the Eastern Mediterranean
Countries like Greece, Cyprus, and Albania are suffering from severe heat or flames as a result of the heat wave in the eastern Mediterranean region. Greece requested assistance from the European Union on Saturday to combat wildfires that have broken out in various areas.
Just north of Athens, one of the worst flames started, damaging homes and causing police to flee. Fire brigade spokesperson Vasileios Vathrakogiannis told the AFP news agency on Saturday that strong winds were stoking the fire in Athens and other locations as well as the Peloponnese peninsula that protrudes west of the capital.
He said that they were also stoking the fires in the islands of Kythera, Euboea, and Crete. ‘We have the difficult part ahead of us,’ he informed reporters. Nearly a week into the heat wave, when temperatures in Greece reached 45 degrees Celsius, the fires started.
For a large portion of the week, including Saturday, Greek authorities closed the Acropolis, the nation’s most important archeological site, from noon until five of the clock in the afternoon. Visitors were advised to remain in the shade.
