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ClimateQuiet 6d · day 9

Turkey's Konya basin sees sinkhole surge as drought and irrigation drain aquifers

AFAD has logged 684 sinkholes across Konya, Karaman and Aksaray as Turkey prepares to host COP31.

newest coverage 6d agosummary written 8d ago7 pieces125 likes & upvotes2 comments MastodonGoogle NewsBluesky

What to know

  • AFAD has documented 684 sinkholes across Konya, Karaman and Aksaray, Turkey's agricultural heartlands, with about 20 new ones forming each year.
  • The collapses, known locally as obruks, are driven by a groundwater system depleted by decades of irrigation and worsened by Turkey's severe 2025 drought.
  • A regional study estimates annual groundwater storage loss equivalent to 3.4 centimetres of water, pointing to a system under sustained pressure.
  • The crisis draws added attention because Turkey is preparing to host the UN's COP31 climate conference.

AFAD Turkey's disaster and emergency management authorityTurkish farmers Agricultural users of groundwater in the Konya basinTurkish government Host of the COP31 climate conference

Turkey's Konya basin sees sinkhole surge as drought and irrigation drain aquifers
theconversation.com

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 2 pieces in two hours at Oct 30, 10 AM; 7 pieces over 9 days (2 articles · 5 posts) Oct 30, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Oct 30, 10 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Bluesky 1, Mastodon 1Oct 30, 12 PM — quietOct 30, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 30, 4 PM — quietOct 30, 6 PM — quietOct 30, 8 PM — quietOct 30, 10 PM — quietOct 31, 12 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Mastodon 1Oct 31, 2 AM — quietOct 31, 4 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 31, 6 AM — quietOct 31, 8 AM — quietOct 31, 10 AM — quietOct 31, 12 PM — quietOct 31, 2 PM — quietOct 31, 4 PM — quietOct 31, 6 PM — quietOct 31, 8 PM — quietOct 31, 10 PM — quietNov 1, 12 AM — quietNov 1, 1 AM — quietNov 1, 3 AM — quietNov 1, 5 AM — quietNov 1, 7 AM — quietNov 1, 9 AM — quietNov 1, 11 AM — quietNov 1, 1 PM — quietNov 1, 3 PM — quietNov 1, 5 PM — quietNov 1, 7 PM — quietNov 1, 9 PM — quietNov 1, 11 PM — quietNov 2, 1 AM — quietNov 2, 3 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Nov 2, 5 AM — quietNov 2, 7 AM — quietNov 2, 9 AM — quietNov 2, 11 AM — quietNov 2, 1 PM — quietNov 2, 3 PM — quietNov 2, 5 PM — quietNov 2, 7 PM — quietNov 2, 9 PM — quietNov 2, 11 PM — quietNov 3, 1 AM — quietNov 3, 3 AM — quietNov 3, 5 AM — quietNov 3, 7 AM — quietNov 3, 9 AM — quietNov 3, 11 AM — quietNov 3, 1 PM — quietNov 3, 3 PM — quietNov 3, 5 PM — quietNov 3, 7 PM — quietNov 3, 9 PM — quietNov 3, 11 PM — quietNov 4, 1 AM — quietNov 4, 3 AM — quietNov 4, 5 AM — quietNov 4, 7 AM — quietNov 4, 9 AM — quietNov 4, 11 AM — quietNov 4, 1 PM — quietNov 4, 3 PM — quietNov 4, 5 PM — quietNov 4, 7 PM — quietNov 4, 9 PM — quietNov 4, 11 PM — quietNov 5, 1 AM — quietNov 5, 3 AM — quietNov 5, 5 AM — quietNov 5, 7 AM — quietNov 5, 9 AM — quietNov 5, 11 AM — quietNov 5, 1 PM — quietNov 5, 3 PM — quietNov 5, 5 PM — quietNov 5, 7 PM — quietNov 5, 9 PM — quietNov 5, 11 PM — quietNov 6, 1 AM — quietNov 6, 3 AM — quietNov 6, 5 AM — quietNov 6, 7 AM — quietNov 6, 9 AM — quietNov 6, 11 AM — quietNov 6, 1 PM — quietNov 6, 3 PM — quietNov 6, 5 PM — quietNov 6, 7 PM — quietNov 6, 9 PM — quietNov 6, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 7 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quiet ◂ 1 earlier2
Oct 31Nov 1Nov 2Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6yesterdaynow · 11:25 AM ET
  1. 2

    Coverage frames sinkhole crisis against Turkey's COP31 host role

    As Turkey prepares to host the COP31 climate conference, reporting highlights the contrast between its role convening global climate talks and its own escalating, drought-linked sinkhole crisis at home.

    • TheConversationUK@newsie.social

      As Turkey prepares to host Cop31, the massive global conference on environmental issues, it is also being confronted with a dangerous sinkhole problem.

      TheConversationUK@newsie.socialMastodon8d ago1▲view on Mastodon ↗
    1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
    • CelloMomOnCars@mastodon.social

      "[On] Turkey’s central Anatolian plateau, large sinkholes, some tens of metres wide and deep, have appeared across the Konya basin, swallowing farmland, and threatening nearby roads and settlements. The growing number of sinkholes is often attributed to drought and climate change. But intensive groundwater extraction for agriculture can also…

      CelloMomOnCars@mastodon.socialMastodon8d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. 1

    Researchers tie sinkhole surge to groundwater over-extraction and drought

    A regional study cited in the reporting estimates an average annual loss of groundwater storage equivalent to 3.4 centimetres of water, as decades of irrigation combined with Turkey's most severe drought in decades in 2025 destabilise underground cavities in the carbonate rock beneath the Konya basin.

  3. background

    AFAD documents 684 sinkholes across Konya, Karaman and Aksaray — Turkey's disaster and emergency management authority has recently catalogued 684 sinkholes in the agricultural heartlands of Konya, Karaman and Aksaray, with roughly 20 new collapses appearing every year according to a recent study.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets Massive sinkholes open up across Turkey as it struggles with drought and climate change

    first by Mastodon, 8d ago · also The Conversation

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