Turkish State Meteorology Service

Sudden downpours in Istanbul and the northwestern province of Bursa have caused major disruptions, with roads turning into lakes, traffic grinding to a halt and daily life paralyzed as citizens grappled with severe weather conditions.

Following the warnings issued by the Turkish State Meteorology Service, the European side of Istanbul experienced particularly heavy downpours.

While Türkiye prepares for a week of wet weather with heavy rains and thunderstorms expected across much of the country, experts have warned that even higher temperatures could be on the horizon after last year's scorching summer.

The Turkish State Meteorology Service (MGM) has issued a yellow-code warning for six provinces, including Balıkesir, Çanakkale, Edirne, İzmir, Kırklareli, and Tekirdağ, as strong winds, known as lodos, are expected to sweep through the Marmara and Aegean regions of Türkiye, bringing the possibility of mud showers due to dust transport.

The new cold wave has gripped Türkiye and will affect the country's western region and temperatures will decrease by 4 to 5 degrees Celsius, meteorologists said.

One man has lost his life after he got caught up in an avalanche in the northeastern province of Artvin, as experts issued heavy snow and avalanche warnings for the Eastern Black Sea and Eastern Anatolia regions.

With adverse weather dealing a severe blow to the fishing sector, fishermen are struggling to continue catching fish in the Black Sea, resulting in limited fish stock available for selling and a consequent rise in prices that have also almost doubled.

Online weather forecaster Kerem Ökten faces a criminal complaint from Professor Dr. Mikdat Kadıoğlu for allegedly using a fake diploma, while on the other hand, Ökten has denied misleading claims of being a meteorology graduate, attributing his popularity to being passionate.

With a new cold wave coming from Iceland to hit the country, the Turkish State Meteorology Service warns of heavy precipitation and snowfall ahead as temperatures will further go down in the coming days.

Precipitation will continue in the west of the country on Jan. 8 and move toward the north from the western region to the Black Sea on Jan. 9, according to the bureau.

While Türkiye spent the last two months of 2023 with temperatures above seasonal norms, experts have announced that the trend will not continue in the first month of the year, and cold temperatures and snowfall will prevail across the country from mid-January.

With light rains witnessed on the first day of the new year, experts predict the occurrence of intermittent precipitation across the country for the coming week.