The heavy snowfall at the start of the New Year has brought Istanbul to a standstill, leaving stunning images and major traffic problems, with vehicles stranded and serious mobility difficulties in much of the city, including the cancellation of several flights and ferries. The intense cold continues to affect the Turkish metropolis, but also most of Turkey, where the cold storm has left temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius.
As the urgent warnings issued by the Turkish State Meteorological Service for the New Year had predicted, precipitation in Istanbul intensified into a severe winter storm that hit especially the northern districts of the city. In the European part of Istanbul, districts such as Sarıyer and Arnavutköy were the worst affected, with a rapid accumulation of snow covering roads, rooftops and vehicles, reaching up to 20 centimetres thick.
Traffic was severely slowed down by the snow in Sarıyer, where many drivers lost control of their cars due to the icy asphalt, while others had a difficult time, especially in hilly areas. Other European districts such as Şişli or Kağıthane were also covered in white.
According to the Anatolia news agency, snowfall continued intermittently this morning in several districts in the European part of the city, including the aforementioned but also Beşiktaş, Beyoğlu and Sultangazi. Local and foreign tourists visiting the famous Sultanahmet Square and other historic sites in the central Fatih district, as well as famous landmarks such as Istiklal Avenue and Taksim, immortalised the first snowfall of the year with their mobile phones.
Up to 10 cm of snow in the Asian part of Istanbul
The snowstorm also affected the North Marmara motorway, where several vehicles were completely immobilised, forcing drivers to leave the road while waiting for help.
In the Asian part of Istanbul, the storm turned into a full-blown blizzard in districts such as Beykoz, Ümraniye and Çekmeköy, turning elevated areas into extremely dangerous surfaces. In Beykoz, residents helped each other from early morning to push vehicles stuck on snow and ice-covered slopes. At the highest altitudes, the accumulation reached 10 centimetres, causing several traffic accidents. Heavy snowfall was also recorded in Üsküdar and Beylerbeyi.
Ferry and flight cancellations
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality reported that the snow is causing serious problems in maritime transport, leading to the cancellation of numerous ferry services. On the air transport side, although the snow that started falling as early as yesterday afternoon covered the area around Istanbul Airport in white and even partially covered the runways, the daily Hürriyet reported that no serious disruptions to air traffic have been reported so far, although other media reported some cancellations of domestic flights, especially on connections to the country’s eastern provinces.
Authorities have also warned that temperatures will be between 3 and 6 degrees below seasonal average until mid-January, although brief improvements are expected on 3 and 6 January.
The New Year snowstorm affects not only Istanbul, but at least 63 provinces in Turkey including Ankara, although in the capital the snowfall is concentrated only in some areas. Weather warnings have also been issued to residents in 31 provinces because of the risks associated with heavy snowfall, especially deteriorating road conditions; the alert affects the provinces of Adana, Ağrı, Artvin, Bingöl, Bitlis, Elazığ, Erzincan, Erzurum, Giresun, Gümüşhane, Hakkari, Hatay, Kars, Kocaeli, Malatya, Kahramanmaraş, Mardin, Muş, Rize, Sakarya, Siirt, Trabzon, Tunceli, Van, Zonguldak, Batman, Şırnak, Bartın, Ardahan, Osmaniye and Düzce.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
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.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
