Heat Waves in the City of Gaziantep in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, the duration, frequency and the impact of heat waves on comfort conditions, experienced particularly in the summers, have been examined with the purpose of revealing how the annual and monthly temperatures in Gaziantep, a city located in the South Eastern district of Turkey, are affected by the global climate change. Initially, the data on minimum, maximum and average heat in the period from 1940 to 2015, retrieved from the Meteorological Station in the city center, were analyzed using the Mann-Kendall trend analysis, which is a non-parametric test, and the increase/decrease trends in temperature parameters were determined. Afterwards, the impact of heat waves on the comfort levels was demonstrated using the ''Heat Index (apparent temperature)'' method by Steadman (1979), analyzing the heat waves that are predicted to increase in rate and frequency with the climate change, even though the statistical distributions remain the same. According to the results produced by the Heat Index method, it is estimated that the temperatures in the region will shift towards a warmer climate in terms of thermal conditions. It is believed that this study will be highly instrumental in prompting necessary precautions to avert the heat waves reaching a disaster level in Gaziantep, which is located in a position susceptible to heat waves due to its latitude and geographical conditions.