Turkey and Syria are hit by strong earthquakes. Thousands of people have died as a result. A look at the weather for the next few days gives a glimpse of the bad.
Thousands of dead, destroyed cities, many missing – Turkey and Syria were hit by violent earthquakes. The suffering of the local people, the images of the piles of rubble, the fading hope for the survival of friends and families, all of this inspires compassion even far away from the tragedy. In Heilbronn, Stuttgart and other cities, relief campaigns are being planned, people are on their way to help. But while the humanitarian ball is getting rolling, the next crisis is looming: the local weather.
The rescue work is in full swing, relief operations are starting and in many places there is mourning, as well at the Islamic community in Neckarsulm, after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey on Monday morning. Help is also coming from Heilbronn to the affected areas, which have also experienced 22 other aftershocks, some of them strong, after the first tremor. But the situation is made worse by the weather, because heavy rain and sleet make the work difficult for helpers.
Earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria: snow, rain and minus temperatures
And it gets even worse: people in Turkey and Syria are being asked to stay outdoors. Many cannot go back to their houses because they were destroyed by the earthquake, so they have to stay outside anyway. In addition, the earthquakes happened at a time when most people were probably in bed. Pack things? Not possible. Freezing temperatures, wintry snowy weather and heavy rain are making the situation significantly worse.
Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria: Up to minus 10 degrees possible
The Turkey tragedy continues, because with such weather conditions further victims are almost foreseeable. In Turkey and Syria there are dangers from below and above – the earthquakes and the temperatures. According to “Bild”, climatologist Dr. Karsten Brandt from “Donnerwetter.de”: “Especially the now affected areas around Gaziantep, Kilis and Dyabarkir get 10 to 20 cm of fresh snow and minus 10 degrees at night.” There is even talk of a snow storm.
Across from echo24.de explains Jacqueline Kernn from the “Deutscher Wetterdienst” (DWD): “It’s also winter in the region. It is true that there are slight plus degrees during the day, which are two to five degrees on the Turkish side and up to eight or nine degrees on the Syrian side.” But: the nights are the biggest problem. “At night there is frost and regionally or locally it can also go into the severe frost range, especially towards the end of the week,” says the graduate meteorologist. Severe frost, that means minus ten degrees!
A dangerous weather situation for the local people, which adds to the risk of earthquakes. Hardly any clothes, no warmth, no roof over your head and then minus temperatures at which many people in Baden-Württemberg would be reluctant to leave their warm apartments. In addition, there is wind with a speed of up to 50 kilometers per hour. It does that for them too aid organizations from Baden-Württemberg heavier.
Weather in the earthquake region will be more violent: When the low pressure area is gone, it will not get warmer
The reason for the weather conditions is a low pressure area that is currently over the region. So is there hope once the low has passed? “Unfortunately, it doesn’t get any warmer then,” explains DWD expert Kernn echo24.de. The reason: the low-pressure area brings warm air from the south on the front and cold air from the north on the back. Kernn: “Once the low pressure area is gone, the nights will be very cold.”
Although it will probably get drier in the earthquake region in Turkey and Syria, it will also be colder at night. The weather is extremely unfavorable for relief operations on site. Nevertheless, it has to be done quickly, because with the prospect it will not be easier for the people affected to survive. In Germany, too Donations for aid organizations and the people in the earthquake region collected.
Weather in Turkey and Syria: Freezing cold makes for terrible conditions after earthquakes
The Turkish weather service has predicted low temperatures and some snowfall and rain for Tuesday in the areas affected by the earthquake. Snow is expected in the south-eastern provinces of Mardin and Diyarbakir, according to the Meteorological Directorate General, according to the “Deutsche Presseagentur” (dpa). It is supposed to rain in the provinces of Malatya and Hatay.
Accordingly, in the province of Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, it should get cold to minus five degrees. However, the cold will hit even harder in the coming days. According to the Turkish government, ten provinces, in which around 13.5 million people live, are affected by the disaster. Alongside Italy and Greece, Turkey is the largest earthquake region in Europe, as reported by “merkur.de”.
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