Dwindling water resources and lack of rain have triggered hundreds of sinkholes across Türkiye's central agricultural region, triggering alarms among both farmers and environmental experts, who see the ground's collapse as a direct consequence of climate change.
Gaping sinkholes pockmark farmland producing maize, wheat and sugar beet in Karapınar in Konya province, with more than 10 packed into a field in places. In mountainous areas, vast, ancient sinkholes previously filled with water have now mostly dried up.
The pace at which sinkholes are forming in the Konya basin has accelerated in recent years, with the total now nearing 700, according to Fetullah Arık, a geology professor studying sinkholes at Konya Technical University.
"The main reason for the increase in numbers is climate change and drought, which have affected the whole world since the 2000s," Arık said. "As a result of this drought, the groundwater level is dropping slightly every year."
He said the pace of receding groundwater levels has reached 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16 feet) per year, compared to half a meter per year in the 2000s, adding to concerns in Türkiye's major agricultural sector.
Drought and receding groundwater lead local farmers to dig more wells, many unlicensed, further depleting the groundwater and exacerbating the problem.
"There is also an extremely high demand for water in this (Konya) basin," Arık said, adding that there are around 120,000 unlicensed wells, compared to some 40,000 licensed ones.
While the new sinkholes have not caused any casualties so far, their unpredictable nature risks the lives and belongings of locals, he said.
Two sinkholes opened up in the farmland belonging to Mustafa Şık, a farmer in Karapinar, in the past two years. His brother was only a short distance away, working on the farm in August 2024, when the second sinkhole formed with an "extremely loud, terrifying rumbling sound," Şık said.
A survey by geologists in Şık's land found two more areas where sinkholes could form – although it is not possible to predict when they will happen.
"Are we worried? Of course, we are very worried," he said.
