ISTANBUL, Türkiye, July 04 (V7N) – In a dramatic display of extreme weather, a rare and heavy blanket of snow fell on parts of northeastern Turkey on Friday, even as the rest of the country sweltered under scorching summer heat and firefighters battled widespread wildfires.

The unusual snowfall occurred in several mountainous areas inland from Rize, a town located on Turkey's northwestern Black Sea coast, approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the Georgian border. Temperatures plummeted in these regions, creating a stark contrast to the severe heatwaves affecting other parts of Turkey and Europe.

Gencaga Karafazlioglu, a local journalist from Rize, expressed his astonishment, stating that while the area is accustomed to unusual weather due to its lush greenery and heavy rainfall, he had never before witnessed snow in July. "It's been snowing for about four or five hours. I'm 65 years old, I've lived in Rize for most of my life, and this is the first time I've seen snow in July," he told AFP. He noted that while older generations might recall some July snow 30 or 40 years ago, it was never of this magnitude.

Footage circulating on social media showed the Ovit Yaylası, a plateau situated approximately 2,500 meters (about 8,200 feet) above sea level, completely blanketed in white, with heavy snow falling from the skies. The snowfall extended over an area of at least 100 kilometers, covering regions from the Anzer Yaylası plateau through the Kaçkar Mountains National Park and beyond, a region known for its livestock farming. Karafazlioglu added that the town of Artvin, located 50 kilometers inland at an elevation of 350 meters, was among the worst-hit areas.

This extraordinary weather event occurred simultaneously with a string of wildfires raging in Izmir province, approximately 1,600 kilometers to the west, where temperatures were forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the coming days.

Experts worldwide consistently link such increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events – ranging from droughts and heatwaves to hailstorms and unseasonal snow – to human-driven climate change. This incident in Turkey serves as another stark reminder of the unpredictable and severe impacts of a changing global climate.

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