The lack of precipitation and water scarcity in Türkiye have topped the country's agenda over the course of the past few months, with experts from several prominent universities pushing to raise awareness among the population before agricultural irrigation and lack of drinking water become even more serious issues.

In 1993, the United Nations recognized March 22 as World Water Day to draw attention to the growing problem of preserving clean water sources all around the world. Aiming to take concrete steps regarding the protection and reproduction of potable water resources, the member states of the U.N .celebrate this day all over the world with different themes every year.

World Water Day this year will be marked on Wednesday with the theme "Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible." The theme aims to highlight how important groundwater is to our environment, according to U.N.

For water-stressed Türkiye, listed as a "high water stress country," keeping groundwater flowing without losses is crucial, both for its agricultural sector and to be prepared for the uncertainties that the future may bring, with the climate crisis triggering dry spells with each passing year.

Stating that the climate crisis experienced in the last 20 years has reached the extent of a disaster in many regions of the world, Samsun Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) Faculty of Agriculture lecturer Yusuf Demir said: "Drought, which has been felt intensely in our country over the years, triggers desertification from the south to the north and directly affects agricultural production."

"Unfortunately, our water resources as a country are very limited and we are one of the countries that are seriously affected by the global climate. Relevant units and organizations of our state carry out important work. However, these studies will be insufficient without the participation and support of the public. Our time is now,'' Demir highlighted.

"We have to explain and teach the meaning and importance of water, the environment, drought and conservation to our 85 million people," he said.

On the occasion of World Water Day, Demir said that the members of the U.N. aim to take concrete steps regarding the protection and reproduction of drinkable water resources in the past 30 years. However, the extent of the natural disasters and drought experienced together with it have reached significant dimensions.

At the same time polluted drinking water and an absence of sanitary infrastructure are endangering the lives of children around the world, according to the U.N. children's agency UNICEF. Every day, more than 1,000 children under the age of 5 die worldwide from diseases caused by polluted water, lack of sanitation and poor hygiene, UNICEF reported in New York on Monday.

Reiterating that the dam occupancy rates and water reserve rates in 2023 are lower than in previous years, Demir said that Türkiye's water resources are "very limited" as it is one of the countries that are seriously affected by climate change.

Noting that the summer months will not be easy, the professor warned that shortages in agriculture, domestic use and industry may be faced owing to the low precipitation over the past five months.

''There has been a very serious flood in the region where we experienced a disaster. The very heavy rains that took place there brought a flood disaster that we did not expect. It has already been revealed in reports that natural disasters will increase with the effect of global warming. We need to be careful today, both to be vigilant and careful against these disasters and to be careful about droughts and the problems relating to the water resources," he said.

"Despite the issues, such as the climate crisis, natural disasters and drought, unfortunately, the water crisis that is still experienced and likely to be experienced in our country and the dimensions of the danger waiting for us are not sufficiently understood,'' Demir highlighted, urging the local authorities and public to take more concrete steps on this subject.

On Monday, the U.N.'s climate advisory panel urged dramatic reductions in planet-heating emissions. The world will cross the key 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) global warming limit in about a decade, the U.N. said, warning that the devastating impacts of climate change are hitting faster than expected.

In the final installment of a major series of reports, delivered in a crucial decade in human history, the organization declared that breaching the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold could signal extinctions on land and in the oceans, crop failures and an increasing possibility of reaching so-called "tipping points" in the climate system, including the death of biodiversity-rich coral reefs and faster melting of the polar ice sheets feeding sea level rises.

Another lecturer, professor Dursun Büyüktaş from Akdeniz University's Faculty of Agriculture, also noted that the rainfall over the past five months in Türkiye remained at the lowest level in the last 63 years and said: "We will probably have to put the plants that consume less water in the planting pattern in the coming season. A change in the crops' rotation will be inevitable throughout Türkiye in the coming years."