Pektaş et al. (2025) Spatio‐Temporal Change of Climate Regions in Türkiye

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: International Journal of Climatology
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-10-21
• Authors: Mehmet Hakan Pektaş, Hakan Aksu
• DOI: 10.1002/joc.70166

Research Groups

Not available from the provided abstract.

Short Summary

This study investigates climate zone shifts in Türkiye from 1954 to 2023 using high-resolution reanalysis data and clustering methods. It reveals a significant trend towards aridification, marked by the contraction of humid regions, the emergence of a new arid zone, and a substantial increase in semi-arid areas across the country.

Objective

• To explore the shift in climate zones in Türkiye over time as a result of climate change, focusing on the period from 1954 to 2023.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Türkiye (country-wide), with specific focus on Southeastern Anatolia, Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, and Central Anatolia geographical regions.
• Temporal Scale: 1954 to 2023 (70 years), analyzed using 10-year moving windows within 30-year periods.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Ward linkage method (hierarchical clustering algorithm), De Martonne aridity index.
• Data sources: ERA5-Land reanalysis data (high-resolution).

Main Results

• Eight distinct homogeneous climate regions were identified.
• A notable contraction of very humid and extremely humid regions was observed.
• A new arid zone emerged in Southeastern Anatolia.
• The proportion of semi-arid areas increased significantly from 9.03% in 1954–1983 to 14.62% in 1994–2023.
• Climate zone changes were not uniform across the country, with the most pronounced shifts occurring in Southeastern Anatolia, Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, and Central Anatolia.
• The findings demonstrate a clear tendency toward aridification in Türkiye's hydroclimatic regime, supporting broader global projections of a northward expansion of the subtropical climate zone.

Contributions

• Provides a high-resolution, long-term (1954-2023) analysis of climate zone shifts in Türkiye.
• Identifies the emergence of a new arid zone and quantifies the increase in semi-arid areas, offering specific regional insights into climate change impacts.
• Utilizes a robust clustering approach (Ward linkage method with moving windows) to track dynamic changes in climate regions.
• Supports and provides regional evidence for global projections of subtropical climate zone expansion and increasing aridification.

Funding

Not available from the provided abstract.

Citation

@article{Pektaş2025SpatioTemporal,
  author = {Pektaş, Mehmet Hakan and Aksu, Hakan},
  title = {Spatio‐Temporal Change of Climate Regions in Türkiye},
  journal = {International Journal of Climatology},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1002/joc.70166},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.70166}
}