Blaming Climate Change, Turkish Farmers Count the Cost of Drought

Men chat by the shores of partly dried-out waters near Alibeykoy Dam, north of Istanbul, Turkey September 16, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
Men chat by the shores of partly dried-out waters near Alibeykoy Dam, north of Istanbul, Turkey September 16, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
TT
20

Blaming Climate Change, Turkish Farmers Count the Cost of Drought

Men chat by the shores of partly dried-out waters near Alibeykoy Dam, north of Istanbul, Turkey September 16, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
Men chat by the shores of partly dried-out waters near Alibeykoy Dam, north of Istanbul, Turkey September 16, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

Rain fell on Bicar Icli's fields in southeastern Turkey for the first time in eight months last week, but he and other farmers are already counting the cost of a drought they blame on climate change.

Icli has not been able to plant his winter wheat crops due to the parched soils. Unless there is more rain in the coming weeks, he fears it will be too late.

"There is a serious problem here in my opinion, there is a much greater risk than in previous years," said Icli, who has been working his fields in Diyarbakir province for five years.

As world leaders prepare to convene in Glasgow on Sunday for the UN COP26 climate summit, Icli's woes highlight the problems facing farmers in Turkey and elsewhere due to extreme weather linked to climate change.

In an effort to limit their financial losses, Suleyman Iskenderoglu said he and other farmers were trying to make savings by skipping on fertilizer, Reuters reported.

"How are we to produce under these conditions?" he said, as he looked over his sun-baked fields.

Besides the lingering drought, Turkey was hit by flash floods in its Black Sea region and massive wildfires in southern regions during the summer.

Environmentalists say climate change and aggressive farming methods have fuelled the risk of water shortages, which surfaced in late 2020 as official data showed water levels at dams had fallen to record lows due to a lack of rainfall.

At Diyarbakir's agricultural chamber, Chairman Abdulsamet Ucaman said farmers had seen their output fall by 60-70% this year from 2020.

"This has surpassed the level of concern, it is turning into a catastrophe," he said.

President Tayyip Erdogan said last week data indicated the country's usable water supplies would keep shrinking.

"Turkey is not a water-rich country," he said. "This data shows that our water potential, which we are already not rich in, will fall more in coming years."

Earlier this month, Ankara became the last member of the G20 major economies to ratify the Paris climate accord.

Icli said he feared action to tackle carbon emissions in line with the agreement would be too late.

"Turkey signed the Paris climate agreement, but what will happen now?" he said. "We destroyed nature ... so I don't see the meaning of the climate accord after that."



Spain Battles 14 Major Fires with ‘Unfavorable Conditions’ Expected to Fuel More

 This recent photo taken from a French Canadair water bomber and provided Friday, Aug. 15, 2025 by the Securite Civile shows wildfire in Spain. (Securite Civile via AP)
This recent photo taken from a French Canadair water bomber and provided Friday, Aug. 15, 2025 by the Securite Civile shows wildfire in Spain. (Securite Civile via AP)
TT
20

Spain Battles 14 Major Fires with ‘Unfavorable Conditions’ Expected to Fuel More

 This recent photo taken from a French Canadair water bomber and provided Friday, Aug. 15, 2025 by the Securite Civile shows wildfire in Spain. (Securite Civile via AP)
This recent photo taken from a French Canadair water bomber and provided Friday, Aug. 15, 2025 by the Securite Civile shows wildfire in Spain. (Securite Civile via AP)

Spain battled against 14 major fires on Friday as authorities warned of "unfavorable conditions" to tackle fires that have already killed seven people and burned more than 150,000 hectares (579 square miles).

A 12-day heatwave and southerly winds meant firefighters were facing another challenging day in one of the worst summers for fires in the past 20 years, said Virginia Barcones, director general of emergency services.

"In the western part of the country the situation is extremely worrying," Barcones said on RTVE.

In Galicia, several fronts had joined together to form an even bigger blaze forcing the closure of highways and rail services to the region.

The national weather agency AEMET warned of extreme fire risk in the north and west of the country, as temperatures expected to reach as high as 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on the north coast were set to add fuel to the flames.

"Today will be another very difficult day, with an extreme risk of new fires," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X.

Firefighters have been battling to put out wildfires across southern Europe, with the flames stoked by the extended heat wave gripping the region.

Avincis, the largest operator of emergency aerial services in Spain and Europe, said it had registered a 50% increase from last year in flight hours dedicated to firefighting operations in Spain and Portugal so far this season.

A fire near Molezuelas de la Carbellada in the Castile and Leon region that was one of the largest in Spain's history hadn't advanced since Thursday, said Angel Sanchez, head of the region's forest fire service.

"We will continue working to stabilize it," he said.