Turkey's electricity use reaches all-time high in hottest July on record
A report found that Turkish electricity needs are skyrocketing as the climate warms.
Turkey’s electricity consumption reached an all-time high last month as people blasted their air conditioners in the country’s hottest July since records began 55 years ago, according to data released Thursday.
A report from think tank Ember Energy found that in July, Turks had an hourly electricity demand of 59 gigawatt hours, mainly driven by increased air conditioning use during the soaring temperatures.
Record-breaking temperatures were observed at 66 of the country's 220 weather stations, where the average temperature has risen by 1.9 C (35.42 F), the Turkish Ministry of Environment wrote on the X platform on Aug. 9. The highest-ever recorded temperature of 50.5 degrees C (122.9 F) was recorded on July 25 in Silopi, southeast Turkey.
Why it matters: Ember Energy found that every degree Celsius (33.8 F) temperature increase in Turkey creates a need for an additional 0.77 gigawatts of electricity generation capacity.
