Turkey will see a hotter September this year

El Niño is poised to elevate Turkey's September temperatures above the norm in 2023, according to a Turkish climate scientist. He also forecasts even higher global temperatures in 2024, surpassing this year's record highs. While climate change remains the primary driver of escalating global temperatures, the El Niño phenomenon has amplified its impact since May.

El Niño refers to the warming of the ocean surface, signified by above-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

Levent Kurnaz, Director of the Center for Climate Change and Policy Studies at Bogazici University in Istanbul, explained that El Niño results in abnormal warming of Pacific Ocean waters, primarily affecting coastal regions. Kurnaz noted that El Niño's effects became apparent in Turkey over the last 20 days, though it officially begins worldwide in May.

Kurnaz pointed out, "In Turkey, late July and the first week of August typically bring peak summer heat, followed by a cooling trend. However, this year, September could be considerably warmer than usual. One advantage of El Niño is increased rainfall in Turkey, which we hope will help mitigate last year's drought."

Highlighting the numerous days with record-breaking temperatures globally in 2023, he projected, "We anticipate even higher temperatures in 2024 compared to this year, with the potential for daily temperature records to be broken regularly."

While acknowledging that a significant portion of ongoing global warming can be attributed to climate change, Kurnaz emphasized that cooler-than-average temperatures in the Pacific Ocean over the past three years have somewhat obscured the consequences of global warming.

In light of the rising worldwide cost of food, irrespective of climate change, Kurnaz issued a warning that this situation would be exacerbated by drought and climate change effects, leading to a serious food crisis.