The heat wave from North Africa that has swept Turkey in recent days has left temperatures unusually high above average and record-breaking, literally: for the first time in history, one area of the country recorded 50.5 degrees Celsius, while thermometers in more than 30 provinces exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.
As reported by the Turkish NTV channel citing data from the General Directorate of Meteorology, temperatures – measured in the shade – exceeded 40 degrees Celsius in 31 provinces of the country: Şırnak, Mardin, Siirt, Şanlıurfa, Batman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Kilis, Antalya, Adıyaman, Muğla, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Aydın, İzmir, Denizli, Adana, Bingöl, Elazığ, Manisa, Burdur, Balıkesir, Eskişehir, Tunceli, Edirne, Mersin, Malatya, Uşak, Çanakkale, Osmaniye and Muş.
What’s more, the heat wave has led to a record breaking for the highest temperature ever recorded in Turkey, which reached no less than 50.5°C in Silopi, a district located in Turkey’s Şırnak province in the far southeast of Anatolia, on Friday 25 July. In addition, sweltering temperatures close to 50 degrees were also recorded in other regions of the country, such as 49.6 degrees Celsius in the Kızıltepe district of Mardin province, 49.4 degrees Celsius in Cizre – again in Şırnak – and 49.3 degrees Celsius in the Nusaybin district of Şırnak, also in Mardin.
Globally, the record for the highest temperature ever recorded remains unbroken at the 56.7°C measured on 10 July 1913 in Death Valley, California, USA. A human being is able to tolerate up to 50°C for short periods of time if healthy and hydrated, but prolonged exposure causes failure of the body’s thermal regulation mechanisms and can lead to damage to vital organs, and ultimately death.
Until now, the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in Turkey’s history had been set on 15 August 2023, when thermometers measured an air temperature of 49.5°C in Sarıcakaya, in the northwestern province of Eskişehir.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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