Extreme natural events in Turkey have increased more than twofold in 20 years

According to data from the General Directorate of Meteorology, the number of meteorological disasters in Turkey has shown an increase of more than twofold over the last 20 years. The number of extreme events, which hovered below 400 at the beginning of the 2000s, was recorded as 1,329 in the first 9 months of the year 2026.

According to data from the General Directorate of Meteorology; the number of extreme events reached 500 in 2014 and was recorded as 959 in 2015. A record was broken in 2016 with 1,313 events. The number of extreme events was recorded as 598 in 2017, 935 in 2019, 984 in 2020, and 1,024 in 2021. The number of meteorological extreme events exceeded 1,000 for the first time in 2021, and subsequently, a new record was broken with 1,030 events in 2022 and 1,475 events in 2023. This figure was 1,257 in 2024 and 1,011 last year.

In the extreme events experienced in 2014 and subsequent years, rain and floods mostly ranked first. In the proportional distribution of meteorological extraordinary events by years, heatwaves took place in 2016; storms and tornadoes in 2014, 2017, and 2021; heavy rain and floods in 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024, and 2026; heavy rain in 2022; and storms in 2025.