A heat wave is gradually taking over Turkey, with temperatures expected to rise above seasonal norms in some places this week. The scorching weather affecting the Aegean and Mediterranean regions in the west and south will also engulf the inner regions of Anatolia and eastern cities.
The Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS) predicts temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in 10 provinces between Wednesday and the weekend. TSMS issued a warning for the southeastern region in particular where already sizzling temperatures will further rise by between 4 and 6 degrees Celsius. Şanlıurfa, known for its sweltering summers, will see temperatures fluctuating between 40 and 43 degrees Celsius up until Sunday while neighboring Diyarbakır will experience temperatures between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius in the same period.
Experts are warning people living in provinces with blistering temperatures, particularly the elderly, children and those with chronic illnesses, to be cautious about the risk of heatstroke between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The provinces where temperatures are expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius include Aydın and Denizli in the west, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis and Gaziantep in the south and Siirt, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Batman and Adıyaman in the southeast.
In most coastal cities, people rush to beaches to cool off while in landlocked places, lakes and even fountains attract those seeking to escape suffocating temperatures.
Animals are also affected by the stifling heat while zoos and national parks offer them "ice cocktails" and spray water to relieve them.
In the Çukurova region notorious for its summers where the provinces of Adana, Mersin, Hatay, Osmaniye are located, Tarsus Nature Park, a zoo in the eponymous district of Mersin, offers animals plates of fruits and vegetables "on the rocks." Workers at the zoo, home to 69 species, spray them with water twice a day while bears, monkeys and other residents are regularly given "cocktails" comprised of watermelon, apple, orange, kiwi, strawberry, banana and grape buried under lumps of ice. Sprinklers installed by the cages of lions and tigers are used to cool them off. Onur Can Şener, a vet working at the zoo which is home to 2,165 animals, told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Wednesday that animals suffer from "stress" when temperatures rise. "They tend to eat less too. We try to prevent this by providing cocktails and frequently bathing, dousing them with water," he said.