Autumn chill to sweep Türkiye as temperatures drop

ISTANBUL

Türkiye is set to transition into autumn starting Sept. 14, bringing cooler temperatures and heavy downpours to parts of the country as the summer heat subsides.

Following a warm weekend nationwide, autumn weather is expected to make its presence felt from the beginning of the week.

Temperatures are forecast to drop by between 5 and 7 degrees Celsius, while thunderstorms and heavy showers are expected to affect several provinces.

Downpours forecast to hit Istanbul on Sept. 14 are expected to move into the inner sections of the country by Sept. 16.

While many European countries have emerged from their hottest summer on record, Türkiye recorded its 16th-hottest August, 19th-hottest July and 11th-hottest June on record.

Prof. Dr. Mikdat Kadıoğlu said temperatures in Türkiye had remained around seasonal averages and that the summer of 2026 had been markedly cooler than the previous summer.

Sharing his outlook for the autumn season, Kadıoğlu said the summer could linger longer than usual due to record-high sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean, potentially bringing a late and mild start to autumn.

Recalling that the summer marked the onset of an El Niño event, Kadıoğlu noted that Türkiye’s summer of 2025 was about 1 degree Celsius warmer than the summer of 2026, when El Nino had yet to fully mature. He said this comparison disproved the claim that “a Super El Nino would inevitably make the summer hotter.”

The highest temperature recorded in August was 46.7 degrees Celsius in the southeastern district of Cizre in Şırnak province, while the lowest was 4.5 degrees Celsius in the eastern province of Ardahan.