Most cities across the country were embattled with severely cold weather and snowfall on Thursday as Türkiye welcomed 2026.
At least 63 cities, including capital Ankara and Istanbul had heavy snowfall though the precipitation affected only parts of two major cities. Authorities, meanwhile, warned the residents of 31 cities against the risks posed by heavy precipitation, especially worsening road conditions. Among them were Adana, Ağrı, Artvin, Bingöl, Bitlis, Elazığ, Erzincan, Erzurum, Giresun, Gümüşhane, Hakkari, Hatay, Kars, Kocaeli, Malatya, Kahramanmaraş, Mardin, Muş, Rize, Sakarya, Siirt, Trabzon, Tunceli, Van, Zonguldak, Batman, Şırnak, Bartın, Ardahan, Osmaniye and Düzce.
Schools were closed in several cities on Thursday due to New Year holiday but the closure was extended to Friday as well due to heavy snow.
In Van, two avalanches hit rural parts of the eastern province. An elderly woman died in one incident while nearly two dozens of houses were already evacuated due to imminent avalanche risk. In remote parts of eastern and southeastern Türkiye known for its harsh climate in winter, roads were closed to hundreds of villages and neighborhoods far from bigger towns due to snowfall.
In Istanbul, snowfall was intense in the first half of the day and subsided in the afternoon.
