IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WATER RESOURCES OF TURKEY

Climate change is one of the major problems worldwide. Global warming is falling out of balance endangering food, water and energy security and affects the temperature, precipitation and evaporation patterns. As the earth is getting warmer, the significant impacts on fresh water supplies with the potential for disruptive effects on these resources would be expected. Turkey is one of the countries being in the Mediterranean macro-climatic zones, predicted to be affected by many of these adverse effects of climate change especially in water resources. Water is a vital resource for life, so it is important to figure out the situation of Turkey in terms of water resources. This paper investigates the impact of climate change on water resources of Turkey. In this context, current situation and projected effects of climate change on water resources, and measures of adaptation to these impacts were investigated. Results show that in Turkey water is mostly used for human consumption, agriculture sector and industry sector, so basin level is the most appropriate scale for effective water management. In Turkey, adaptation to climate change is largely dependent on extending the knowledge of global warming and water scarcity, rising public awareness on water resources and selecting suitable production and water consumption techniques for all sectors under the different development scenarios.