Weather locations in Turkey

Turkey is an enormous peninsula bridging Europe and Asia, from the Black Sea coast in the north to Cyprus and the Levant in the south, and from the Aegean in the west to the Armenian highlands. Its climate is really three: a Mediterranean one on the southern and western coasts, a humid one on the Black Sea coast, and a strongly continental one on the Anatolian plateau. The Taurus and Pontic ranges, running parallel to the two seas, are what keep the interior dry and the coasts wet.

Main climate types

The Mediterranean zone, including Antalya, Izmir and Mersin, has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate: dry hot summers and mild wet winters. The Black Sea coast has a humid oceanic climate with rain in every month. The Anatolian plateau, around Ankara and Konya, is a semi-arid continental steppe, and the south-east corner around Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa is semi-arid desert steppe.

Temperatures

Istanbul averages about 6 °C in January and about 25 °C in July, with rain in every season. On the southern coast, Antalya averages about 13 °C in January and about 28 °C in July. On the plateau, Ankara averages about 1 °C in January and about 23 °C in July, with cold nights and hot days. The far east, around Erzurum and Van, has January means near minus 8 °C and holds deep snow.

Rainfall

Annual totals are highest on the Black Sea coast, roughly 700 mm to 1,000 mm, and up to 2,000 mm on the eastern Pontic slopes, while the Mediterranean coast takes about 1,000 mm to 1,100 mm around Antalya and less at Izmir. The plateau receives only about 300 mm to 450 mm a year. Timing follows the region: the Mediterranean and Aegean wet seasons run from November to March, the Black Sea coast wettest in late spring and autumn, and the plateau rains in spring and early summer. Snow falls in the interior from December to February.

When to go

The Mediterranean and Aegean coasts are best from late May to early June and again in September and October, when heat is moderate. The plateau and the east are most comfortable from June to September, and the Black Sea coast suits late spring and early autumn.