Turkey’s Environment Ministry said meteorologists had registered a reading of 50.5 degrees Celsius (122.9 degrees Fahrenheit) in the southeast of the country, setting a nationwide record.
The record temperature was registered on Friday at Silopi, the ministry said in a post on X on Saturday.
Silopi is 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Turkey’s borders with Iraq and Syria.
The previous heat record, registered in August 2023, was 49.5 degrees Celsius.
How hot is it in Turkey?
Turkey is sweltering under a heat wave that has hit much of the eastern Mediterranean since Monday and is expected to last several more days.
The Environment Ministry said 132 weather stations across Turkey registered record temperatures for July.
Temperatures are up to 12 degrees Celsius higher than seasonal averages, Turkey’s meteorological service said earlier this week.
Hospitals have reported a surge in cases of dehydration, heatstroke and foodborne illnesses, according to Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.
Turkey battles disastrous wildfires
Temperatures above seasonal norms have been exacerbated by strong winds and dry conditions, resulting in dozens of wildfires across the country.
A new fire broke out on Friday close to high-rise apartments in the popular Mediterranean resort city of Antalya in southern Turkey.
Homes were evacuated in the city center on Friday and the outlying district of Aksu as the fire advanced.
At 46.1 degrees Celsius, July temperatures in Antalya city were the highest for the month since records began in 1930.
Blazes were also reported in the provinces of Karabuk, Sakarya and Bilecik in northern Turkey, forcing the evacuation of several villages.
On Wednesday, 13 people died fighting a fire in Eskisehir province in western Turkey.
Speaking after Friday prayers, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was “faced with a truly great disaster.”
He said 25,000 personnel were fighting fires across the country, assisted by 27 planes, 105 helicopters and 6,000 ground vehicles.
Eastern Mediterranean hit by heat wave
The heat wave in the eastern Mediterranean region has left countries such as Greece, Cyprus and Albania reeling under extreme heat or fighting fires.
Greece on Saturday asked the European Union help to battle wildfires that have sprung up in different regions.
One of the worst fires broke out just north of Athens, destroying houses and forcing police to evacuate homes.
Strong winds were fanning the blaze near Athens and other sites and the Peloponnese peninsula that juts out west of the capital, fire brigade spokesperson Vasileios Vathrakogiannis said on Saturday, according to the AFP news agency.
They were also feeding the flames on the islands of Crete, Euboea and Kythera, he added. “The hard part is ahead of us,” he told reporters.
The fires broke out nearly a week into a heat wave, in which temperatures in Greece passed 45 degrees Celsius.
Greek authorities shut the Acropolis, the country’s top archaeological site, during the hottest part of the day from midday to 5 p.m. for much of the week, including Saturday. They warned tourists to stay in the shade.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
