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
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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."



European Satellite Launcher Set for First Commercial Blast Off

This handout satellite image made available on February 11, 2025 by the European Space Agency and captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on April 02, 2024, shows the Amsterdam Island, that is part of France's French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 / AFP)
This handout satellite image made available on February 11, 2025 by the European Space Agency and captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on April 02, 2024, shows the Amsterdam Island, that is part of France's French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 / AFP)
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European Satellite Launcher Set for First Commercial Blast Off

This handout satellite image made available on February 11, 2025 by the European Space Agency and captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on April 02, 2024, shows the Amsterdam Island, that is part of France's French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 / AFP)
This handout satellite image made available on February 11, 2025 by the European Space Agency and captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on April 02, 2024, shows the Amsterdam Island, that is part of France's French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 / AFP)

After several postponements, Europe's Ariane 6 launcher will carry out its first commercial mission on Monday when it puts a French military intelligence satellite into space.

The launch from the Kourou base in French Guiana is key to Europe's efforts to build up its security autonomy amid the shocks caused by the US-Russia diplomatic rapprochement.

"The whole world is watching us," Arianespace chief executive David Cavailloles told AFP this month.

Ariane 5 was retired in 2023 and Europe has not been able to use Russia's Soyuz rocket for satellite launches since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Ariane 6 underwent a successful test in July last year and is scheduled to carry out five launches this year.

First scheduled in December, the launch was put back until February 26 and then March 3 because of problems getting the satellite to the Kourou base, according to Arianespace.

"All launches have risks. Problems can happen with the launcher, with the satellite. We make sure that everything is ready and if it needs a few extra weeks, a few extra months, it is not a problem," said Lionel Suchet, head of France's National Center for Space Studies (CNES).

Given the military role of the satellite being put into space, strict security precautions are being taken to limit access at the base while three Rafale fighter jets will patrol the surrounding skies.

"The satellite has to be protected. It has special instruments that must not be seen by just anybody," said Catherine Leveau, CNES director of space transport.

The CSO-3 satellite will complete a network of three French military satellites, with the first two launched in 2018 and 2020 by Soyuz.

The satellites "strengthen" France's military autonomy, according to CNES defence consultant Philippe Steininger.

Some of the images taken by CSO-3 will be shared with the German and Belgian militaries that have invested in the satellites.

Sweden also has access to some images in exchange for letting France use its space research center near the Arctic town of Kiruna.