Weekly Press Release of Istanbul Gelisim University (January 25-29, 2021)   

Abstract

One of the Most Important Problems Awaiting Istanbul in 2021 and After: Water Shortage! While water is the most fundamental element for the continuity of life, the consumption of existing water resources is continued every year due to unconscious water usage. At the point reached today, while serious water shortages are experienced in some countries around the world, the rate of the population who cannot reach clean water constitutes approximately 40%. While some countries around the world are dealing with the water shortage problem, it seems that some countries will face this problem in the near future. Especially the drought experienced in the end of 2020 and in the first months of 2021 causes experts to have more predictions about water projections. The most important of these projections, especially in large cities since 2021, water shortages will be almost anywhere in Turkey. It seems that Istanbul, which is the most populous city in terms of the number of people per square meter, will have difficulties in reaching sufficient clean water in 2021 and beyond. Experts consider 2020 as the least rainy year of the last 40 years. Dams remained empty in Istanbul, which did not receive sufficient rainfall during this period when autumn and winter began to occur. While Istanbul’s dam occupancy rate was around 40.0% in September, this rate had dropped to 20.0% in December. Even though the rains have increased in January, one of the issues that is still up-to-date is the water shortage in Istanbul. As a matter of fact, in January, which is one of the months with the highest rainfall in Istanbul in 2021, the least precipitation of the last seven years was seen and the dam occupancy rates could reach 37.0% from 20.0% only. The precipitation forecast for February shows that this rate will not increase much. Although the water shortage in Istanbul seems to affect the year 2021 significantly, the environmental adversities experienced in recent years will cause Istanbul to be one of the water poor cities in the medium term. The negative effects of climate change, the excessive physical carrying capacity of metropolises such as Istanbul due to the rapid increase in population, and the unconscious use of water are among the most important causes of water shortage. Due to climate change, it is expected that the air temperature in the Mediterranean Basin will increase by an average of 2.2 degrees until 2040. This is the most important indicator that drought will increase. On the other hand, it is known that water use has increased in large cities, especially in Istanbul, in the last year due to the Covid 19 outbreak, but there is not enough water left in the dams. When the water shortage in Istanbul is evaluated, some urgent measures should be taken and these measures should be measures that will remedy the water shortage in Istanbul in the medium and long term. At this point, it is important to increase the studies for the reuse of wastewater on a local basis and to develop new systems, ways and methods to ensure the efficient use of water in the agricultural field. Apart from this, enacting the water law and preparing drought management plans and putting them into effect immediately will be a remedy for the possible water shortage in Istanbul. Apart from all these, it is of great importance to pay attention to water use individually and to take necessary precautions for individual water use in order to prevent water shortage in Istanbul in the short, medium and long term. Istanbul Studies Application and Research Center