October rainfall 95 percent above the seasonal normal: a record for the last 16 years

The General Directorate of Meteorology has published its 2026 October Area Rainfall Report: across Türkiye, the October rainfall average came to 96.4 kilograms per square meter. The October rainfall normal is 49.4 kilograms per square meter, while the rainfall amount in the same period last year was measured at 53.5 kilograms. Accordingly, October rainfall rose 95 percent compared with the long-term average and 80 percent compared with the same period last year, and the highest October rainfall of the last 16 years across Türkiye was entered into the records.

Rainfall decreased by more than 40 percent in places in northern Edirne, around Bartın, Samsun, Amasya, Yozgat, Tokat and Kayseri, and along the coastal sections of the Eastern Black Sea, while around Çanakkale, Muğla, Denizli, Antalya, Isparta, Mersin, Adana, Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, Elazığ, Tunceli, Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa it exceeded four times the seasonal normal. In the Black Sea region rainfall was around the seasonal normal, while in the other regions it was above normal.

The highest October rainfall of the last 66 years was recorded in the Mediterranean, Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia regions, of the last 16 years in Marmara, and of the last 15 years in the Aegean. Across the provinces, the highest rainfall was measured in Kocaeli at 214.6 kilograms per square meter, and the lowest in Yozgat at 26.2 kilograms. In Mersin the rainfall amount exceeded five times the seasonal normal, while the largest decrease in rainfall was seen in Trabzon at 58 percent; in Trabzon, October rainfall fell to its lowest level of the last 46 years.

In Mersin, Elazığ, Adıyaman, Adana, Tunceli, Bingöl, Diyarbakır, Muğla, Denizli and Kahramanmaraş, the highest October rainfall of the last 66 years was entered into the records. The highest October rainfall of the last 39 years occurred in Şanlıurfa, of the last 38 years in Erzincan, Karaman and Malatya, of the last 30 years in Gaziantep, of the last 29 years in Hatay and Kilis, and of the last 20 years in Antalya, Burdur, Isparta, Mardin and Osmaniye.

Across Türkiye, an average of 13.5 rainy days was seen in October; the normal for this figure in the 1991-2020 period was calculated at 7.9 days. The number of rainy days ranged between 20 and 25 days around Erzincan, Tunceli, Bingöl, Muş, Bitlis and Hakkari, and between 5 and 10 days around Edirne, Kırklareli, Balıkesir, İzmir, Manisa, Uşak, Denizli, Aydın, Ankara, Niğde, Kayseri and Yozgat.

By region, the highest rainfall was recorded in the Mediterranean Region at 154.2 kilograms per square meter; rainfall in the region increased by more than 100 percent compared with both the seasonal normal and the same period last year. In Marmara, 127 kilograms of rain fell per square meter, and rainfall rose 76 percent compared with its normal of 72 kilograms and 27 percent compared with the same period last year. In the Aegean, 80.1 kilograms of rainfall per square meter was recorded; rainfall increased 70 percent compared with the seasonal normal of 47.2 kilograms and 12 percent compared with the same period last year. In Central Anatolia, 49.1 kilograms of rainfall per square meter was recorded, 56 percent above the seasonal normal and 82 percent above the same period last year. In the Black Sea, 74.1 kilograms of rainfall per square meter was recorded; rainfall came in around the seasonal normal of 74.5 kilograms while decreasing 11 percent compared with the same period last year. In Eastern Anatolia, 112.7 kilograms per square meter fell, and in Southeastern Anatolia 106.6 kilograms; in both regions the increase was above 100 percent.