Turkey to be classified as highly water-stressed country by 2030, minister says

Duvar English

Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı on Nov. 17 said that half of Turkey's population would face the danger of water shortage within six years at the Water Efficiency Mobilization Information Meeting.

Minister underscored that Turkey has already been classified as a water-stressed country according to international indicators and would be among the countries with extreme scarcity by 2030.

Water stress emerges when the demand for water surpasses the available supply during a specific period, or when poor water quality limits its usability.

Yumaklı stated that the annual amount of water per capita is 1313 cubic metres according to Turkey's current water potential and added, "I am talking about the maximum amount per capita that we can use, not the amount we use. At this rate, only six years later, this rate will fall below 1000 cubic metres and half of our population and approximately 80 percent of irrigated agricultural areas will face the danger of water shortage."

The population of Turkey  was expected to increase by 10 percent and water resources were expected to decrease by 20 percent by the year 2030, according to same calculations.

The 2023 water year, which describes a time period of 12 months for which precipitation totals are measured, ended in October and precipitation fell by six percent compared to the long-term average. 

The highest decrease was recorded in the northwestern Marmara Region with 25 percent. While it was 55 percent in southeastern Hatay province and 40 percent in northwestern Edirne and Tekirdağ provinces.

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