Climate of Turkey

The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea have a temperate Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters. The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Black Sea have a temperate Oceanic climate with warm, wet summers and cool to cold, wet winters. The Turkish Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that receives high precipitation throughout the year. The eastern part of that coast averages 2,500 millimeters annually which is the highest precipitation in the country.

The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Sea of Marmara (including Istanbul), which connects the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea, have a transitional climate between a temperate Mediterranean climate and a temperate Oceanic climate with warm to hot, moderately dry summers and cool to cold, wet winters. Snow does occur on the coastal areas of the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea almost every winter, but it usually lies no more than a few days. Snow on the other hand is rare in the coastal areas of the Aegean Sea and very rare in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea.

Conditions can be much harsher in the more arid interior. Mountains close to the coast prevent Mediterranean influences from extending inland, giving the central Anatolian plateau of the interior of Turkey a continental climate with sharply contrasting seasons.

Winters on the plateau are especially severe. Temperatures of −30 °C to −40 °C (−22 °F to −40 °F) can occur in eastern Anatolia, and snow may lie on the ground at least 120 days of the year. In the west, winter temperatures average below 1 °C (34 °F). Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures generally above 30 °C (86 °F) in the day. Annual precipitation averages about 400 millimetres (15 in), with actual amounts determined by elevation. The driest regions are the Konya plain and the Malatya plain, where annual rainfall frequently is less than 300 millimetres (12 in). May is generally the wettest month, whereas July and August are the driest.

Below are the climates from the seven census regions of Turkey, showing how varied they can be in different places around the country:

İstanbul (Marmara Region)
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     98     9 3     80     9 3     70     11 4     46     17 8     36     21 12     34     26 16     39     28 19     48     29 19     61     25 16     97     20 12     111     15 9     124     11 5 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Turkish State Meteorology
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.9     48 37     3.2     48 37     2.8     52 39     1.8     62 46     1.4     71 54     1.3     79 61     1.5     83 65     1.9     83 66     2.4     77 60     3.8     68 54     4.4     60 47     4.9     52 42 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Ankara (Central Anatolia Region)
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     40     2 −7     31     4 −5     36     10 −2     51     16 3     52     20 7     39     24 9     17     28 13     15     28 13     18     24 8     32     18 4     36     11 −1     48     4 −3 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Turkish State Meteorology
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.6     35 20     1.2     40 23     1.4     50 29     2     60 38     2     68 44     1.5     76 49     0.7     82 55     0.6     83 55     0.7     76 47     1.3     65 39     1.4     51 30     1.9     40 26 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

İzmir (Aegean Region)
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     125     13 6     98     13 6     79     17 8     48     21 12     26     26 16     11     31 20     9.6     33 23     4.6     33 23     35     29 19     52     24 15     111     18 11     135     14 8 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Turkish State Meteorology
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     4.9     55 43     3.8     56 43     3.1     62 46     1.9     70 53     1     79 60     0.4     88 68     0.4     92 73     0.2     91 73     1.4     84 66     2     75 59     4.4     65 51     5.3     57 46 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Antalya (Mediterranean Region)
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     227     15 6     139     15 6     100     18 8     61     22 11     32     26 15     9     31 19     6     35 22     5     34 22     16     31 19     86     27 15     172     21 10     269     16 7 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Turkish State Meteorology
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     8.9     59 43     5.5     59 43     3.9     64 46     2.4     72 52     1.3     79 59     0.4     88 66     0.2     95 72     0.2     93 72     0.6     88 66     3.4     81 59     6.8     70 50     11     61 45 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Zonguldak (Black Sea Region)
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     133     9 4     86     9 3     88     11 5     58     15 8     51     19 12     71     23 16     81     25 18     88     25 18     123     22 15     153     18 12     147     15 8     154     11 5 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Turkish State Meteorology
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     5.2     49 38     3.4     48 37     3.5     51 40     2.3     59 47     2     65 53     2.8     73 60     3.2     77 65     3.5     77 65     4.8     72 60     6     65 54     5.8     58 47     6.1     52 42 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Şanlıurfa (Southeastern Anatolia Region)
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     74     10 2     74     12 3     63     17 6     43     22 11     27     29 16     5     35 21     3     39 25     5     38 24     7     34 20     28     27 15     49     18 8     76     12 4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Turkish State Meteorology
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     2.9     50 36     2.9     54 37     2.5     63 43     1.7     72 52     1.1     84 61     0.2     95 70     0.1     102 77     0.2     100 75     0.3     93 68     1.1     81 59     1.9     64 46     3     54 39 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Erzurum (Eastern Anatolia Region)
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     20     −4 −15     24     −3 −14     33     3 −7     58     12 0     70     17 4     43     22 7     27     27 10     16     28 10     21     23 5     49     15 1     33     7 −5     22     −1 −11 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Turkish State Meteorology
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.8     25 5     0.9     27 7     1.3     37 19     2.3     54 32     2.8     63 39     1.7     72 45     1.1     81 50     0.6     82 50     0.8     73 41     1.9     59 34     1.3     45 23     0.9     30 12 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

See also

• Geography of Turkey
• Environmental issues in Turkey