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INTRODUCTION
Climate is a natural resource vital to our well-being, health and prosperity. Climate change can cause climatic hazards such as droughts and floods in the world. The information gathered, managed and analysed by National Meteorological and Hydrologic Services (NMHS), in collaboration with other regional and international stakeholder organizations and programs, helps decision-makers and end users in their activities and projects for planning and adaptation to expected conditions. As stated in the World Meteorological Organization report (WMO 2016), in this way, decisions may be taken into consideration for planning which reduce risks and optimize socio-economic benefits.
According to the results of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), late 20th century levels of temperature will increase about 2 °C or more in some parts of the world if climate change adaptation cannot be achieved as it is expected. Some parts of the world may gain benefit from this temperature increase. However, if this increase reaches 4 °C or more, some other parts would be faced with risk of agricultural productivity, which in turn would negatively impact global food security. Moreover, renewable water resources would reduce and competition for water among sectors would increase starting from most dry regions (IPCC 2014).
The focus area of this study is Turkey, located in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region, which is particularly vulnerable to climate change (Figure 1). The Mediterranean region has been identified as one of the main climate change hotspots responsive to climate change due to water scarcity, concentration of economic activities in coastal areas, and reliance on climate-sensitive agriculture (EEA 2017).
Caption: Figure 1: The coverage and location of the study area.
Turkey is characterized by highly variable climatic conditions, and experiences semi-dry Mediterranean, semi-humid, and humid conditions. For the country as a whole, there is no dry zone. Most of the central Anatolia and some parts of the east and southeast of Turkey have experienced semi-dry periods, whereas the northeast Black Sea coastal areas have a relatively wetter climate (Deniz et al. 2011).
The coastal areas of Turkey, bordered by the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, are characterized by Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters. The Black Sea region has a temperate oceanic climate with warm,...