Last week’s downpours in the Turkish capital Ankara, which triggered deadly floods, indicate that climate change is aggravating usual weather conditions. The latest data by the Turkish State Meteorological Services (TSMS) show precipitation in May across Turkey increased by more than 100% compared to May 2021.

Rize, a Black Sea province, had the highest precipitation rate at 97 kilograms (213.85 pounds) per square meter, while Balıkesir in the west had the lowest rate. The TSMS says the average precipitation has been 52.7 kilograms per square meter in May between 1991 and 2020. In May 2021, this figure was 21.6 kilos.

The Marmara region had the lowest precipitation rate in May in the past 24 years while southeastern Anatolia, a usually arid region, had the highest increase in precipitation for May.

An average of nine days have been rainy or snowy in May across Turkey. Eastern Turkey, Giresun and Rize in the Black Sea region had more than 15 days of precipitation in May.

As climate change drastically affects weather, triggering new disasters and aggravating the overall meteorological impact, Turkey had a positive winter in terms of weather. Precipitation increased by 13%, compared to average rain and snowfall over the decades while in comparison to the winter of 2021, it saw a rise of 36%. Yet, the worsening weather prolonged into the spring, especially in eastern Turkey where snowfall is not unusual in that season but lasted longer in most provinces.