Türkiye sees strongest heat waves in 75 years
People swim in the sea to cool off from the summer heat in Istanbul.
Heat waves in Türkiye have sharply intensified over the past 75 years, with the summers of 2023 and 2025 recording the most intense events on record, according to a study by researchers at Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ).
The study, presented at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) conference, analyzed changes in heat waves across Türkiye between 1950 and 2025 using the Heat Wave Magnitude Index daily (HWMId), a metric based on daily maximum temperatures that measures the intensity of extreme heat events.
Researchers found a pronounced upward trend in both the frequency and severity of heat waves.Average summer temperatures, which ranged between 22 and 23 degrees Celsius during 1970-90, climbed to 24-25 degrees Celsius after warming accelerated in the early 2000s.
