The prolonged heat and lack of rainfall in the European part of Turkey have led to an extremely severe water crisis. In the Kırklareli district (Eastern Thrace), some of the rivers have already completely dried up, and the water level in the key Kayalıköy dam, which supplies water to the city of Edirne, has dropped to the critical eight percent of its capacity, Anadolu Agency reports, News.bg reports.
According to local authorities, the drought has left rivers and ravines dry, creating serious difficulties for livestock farmers, who cannot provide water for their livestock. As of August 4, there was only about 11.5 million cubic meters of water in the Kayalıköy dam, with a maximum volume of nearly 150 million. The dam is located about 50 km from the border with Bulgaria.
The situation in western Turkey is also critical. In Izmir, which has a population of over 4 million people, a night water regime has been introduced from 23:00 to 05:00 local time today due to the greatly reduced levels in the three main dams supplying the city. According to local authorities, one of them has completely dried up, and the others are below 10% of their capacity.
Experts warn that if there is no rainfall soon and urgent measures are not taken, the water crisis could grow and cover more regions in the country.