Temperatures reached 30 degrees Celsius and beyond in the sea off of Antalya yesterday. Both domestic and foreign tourists flocked to the sea yesterday in hopes of cooling off in the sea, however they were gravely mistaken as the temperatures in the water were practically as high as outside.
Unfortunately, specialists appear to be unable to give us any good news for the days to come. In fact it appears this heat wave, which is making it impossible to sleep through the night, is intended to last another ten days. According to information released by the State Meteorology Department, we may have to wait until the end of the month before we are breathing freely once again. Temperatures are not anticipated to drop until August 25th.
Temperatures for this week are expected to be 2-4 degrees above the seasonal norms in shore side regions, and they are expected to be 6-8 degrees higher than average in the southern and eastern regions. While intermittent downpours are anticipated for the Northeastern regions of the nation, everywhere else is expected to have only light cloud coverage.
EMERGENCY ROOMS ARE OVERFLOWING
Temperatures will continue to be approximately 32 degrees average in Istanbul, 37 degrees Celsius in Ankara, 35 degrees in Antalya, 37 in Adana, 42 in Diyarbakır and 30 degrees Celsius in Erzurum. The biggest issue for those in Istanbul however is the humidity, which is anticipated to reach up to 90% at certain points of the day, making the temperature felt under the sun to be over 40 degrees Celsius. The combination of the intensive heat felt throughout the nation coinciding with the fasting month of Ramadan has resulted in an obvious increase in patients being admitted to hospital emergency rooms. According to Chief Physician Dr. Suat Turgut from Istanbul’s Şişli Etfal Hospital, “The daily average of patients which are admitted to the emergency room is 800. That number has now tripled.”
