Turkey is facing a major drought situation as the country's water levels are at a critically low level. Experts blame it on the Erdogan government's policies. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Major cities in the country are facing serious water shortages. Poor rainfall has led to a dry winter season and the country is staring at its most severe drought in a decade.&nbsp;

Without rainfall, some reservoirs could run out within months. Istanbul has about 45 days of water left. The city of 17 million people is struggling with water reservoirs at their lowest levels in 15 years, on the other hand, the capital city of Ankara has about 110 days.

Officials warn that the situation is dangerous and there is no solution in sight. Turkey has always been a 'water-stressed' country. This is when the demand exceeds the available amount of water. For decades, Turkey has faced several severe droughts. Most of them were caused by a combination of factors. Population growth, industrialisation, and climate change.

While the warning signs have been apparent, Turkey has chosen to ignore them over the years. It has long prioritised economic growth over environmental concerns. Vital water basins have given way to developmental projects. Forests and agricultural lands have been cleared and urban infrastructures have taken their place.&nbsp;

While many hold climate change responsible, experts believe that the country's policies are also to blame. Turkey's growing population has been wasteful of water and very few steps have been taken to fix the damaged water cycle. &nbsp;

Authorities have now jumped in with conservation measures. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged for conservation. But it may be too late as saving and recycling water can only sustain for a few more months.&nbsp;

What turkey ultimately needs is a lot of rainfall or else the country will be left to ration water soon. But turkey's story is just the tip of the iceberg. A quarter of the world's major cities face water stress and many cities could risk running out of water soon.&nbsp;

While Cairo is situated on the banks of the Nile, the city may face critical water shortages by 2025.

Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Tokyo, and Moscow are all dealing with the same problem.&nbsp;

As for India, major cities like Delhi and Chennai deal with water shortage every year.&nbsp;

Turkey is facing a major drought situation as the country's water levels are at a critically low level. Experts blame it on the Erdogan government's policies. Major cities in the country are facing serious water shortages.

Turkey is facing a major drought situation as the country's water levels are at a critically low level. Experts blame it on the Erdogan government's policies. Major cities in the country are facing serious water shortages. Poor rainfall has led to a dry winter season and the country is staring at its most severe drought in a decade. Without rainfall, some reservoirs could run out within months. Istanbul has about 45 days of water left. The city of 17 million people is struggling with water reservoirs at their lowest levels in 15 years, on the other hand, the capital city of Ankara has about 110 days. Officials warn that the situation is dangerous and there is no solution in sight. Turkey has always been a 'water-stressed' country. This is when the demand exceeds the available amount of water. For decades, Turkey has faced several severe droughts. Most of them were caused by a combination of factors. Population growth, industrialisation, and climate change. While the warning signs have been apparent, Turkey has chosen to ignore them over the years. It has long prioritised economic growth over environmental concerns. Vital water basins have given way to developmental projects. Forests and agricultural lands have been cleared and urban infrastructures have taken their place. While many hold climate change responsible, experts believe that the country's policies are also to blame. Turkey's growing population has been wasteful of water and very few steps have been taken to fix the damaged water cycle. Authorities have now jumped in with conservation measures. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged for conservation. But it may be too late as saving and recycling water can only sustain for a few more months. What turkey ultimately needs is a lot of rainfall or else the country will be left to ration water soon. But turkey's story is just the tip of the iceberg. A quarter of the world's major cities face water stress and many cities could risk running out of water soon. While Cairo is situated on the banks of the Nile, the city may face critical water shortages by 2025. Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Tokyo, and Moscow are all dealing with the same problem. As for India, major cities like Delhi and Chennai deal with water shortage every year.

Turkey Drought: Country's water reservoirs at their lowest levels in 15 years

Istanbul may&nbsp;run out of water in 45 days with&nbsp;Turkey facing the worst drought in 10 years with dams drying across the country.

Sprawling underdevelopment and poor rainfall are&nbsp;being blamed for putting Istanbul, the megacity of 17 million people close to running out water.

Earlier, Ankara's mayor Mansur Yavas had confirmed that city's Omerli dam had only 110 days worth of water left in its&nbsp;reservoir, the lowest in last 15 years.

Meanwhile, Turkey's next two biggest cities, Izmir and Bursa are also struggling with their dam capacity being depleted to 36 and 24 per cent respectively.

Turkey is a ''water-stressed'' country as it produces only 1346 cubic metres of water per capita per year. The critically low rainfall in the second half of 2020 led farmers to warn of crop failure.

Turkey has faced several droughts since the 1980s due to industrialisation, population growth and climate change.

As per&nbsp;Istanbul Technical University academic&nbsp;Sevinç Asilhan, ''Turkey has a semi-arid climate due to its geographical location and said the country's reduction in the number of forests and green areas has made the drought more severe.''

Dr Akgün İlhan, a water management expert at the Istanbul Policy Center said: “Instead of focusing on measures to keep water demand under control, Turkey insists on expanding its water supply through building more dams …&nbsp;Turkey&nbsp;has built hundreds of dams in the last two decades.”

“The warning signs have been there for decades but not much has been done in practice.”

Turkey has been criticised for prioritising economic growth and neglecting environmental concerns and remains the only G20 country besides the United States to ratify the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Istanbul may run out of water in 45 days with Turkey facing the worst drought in 10 years with dams drying across the country. Sprawling underdevelopment and poor rainfall are being blamed for putting Istanbul, the megacity of 17 million people close to running out water.

Istanbul may run out of water in 45 days with Turkey facing the worst drought in 10 years with dams drying across the country. Sprawling underdevelopment and poor rainfall are being blamed for putting Istanbul, the megacity of 17 million people close to running out water. Earlier, Ankara's mayor Mansur Yavas had confirmed that city's Omerli dam had only 110 days worth of water left in its reservoir, the lowest in last 15 years. Meanwhile, Turkey's next two biggest cities, Izmir and Bursa are also struggling with their dam capacity being depleted to 36 and 24 per cent respectively. Turkey is a ''water-stressed'' country as it produces only 1346 cubic metres of water per capita per year. The critically low rainfall in the second half of 2020 led farmers to warn of crop failure. Turkey has faced several droughts since the 1980s due to industrialisation, population growth and climate change. As per Istanbul Technical University academic Sevinç Asilhan, ''Turkey has a semi-arid climate due to its geographical location and said the country's reduction in the number of forests and green areas has made the drought more severe.'' Dr Akgün İlhan, a water management expert at the Istanbul Policy Center said: “Instead of focusing on measures to keep water demand under control, Turkey insists on expanding its water supply through building more dams … Turkey has built hundreds of dams in the last two decades.” “The warning signs have been there for decades but not much has been done in practice.” Turkey has been criticised for prioritising economic growth and neglecting environmental concerns and remains the only G20 country besides the United States to ratify the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Istanbul may run out of water in 45 days due to severe drought

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Turkey Drought: Country's water reservoirs at their lowest levels in 15 years

Istanbul may run out of water in 45 days due to severe drought