What is Turkey’s climate like?
The climate varies a lot in Turkey; this depends obviously on where you are in the country. They say that one can travel through Turkey and experience the four seasons in one day.

There is a typical Mediterranean climate by Turkey’s coast and just by the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean; this is because there is almost no rainy season in the summer.

Summer in Turkey extends from May to October, but winter here, however can be wet. You will see snow in the winter very rarely, you will have to go high up in the Taurus Mountains.

The west
In the west part of Turkey, round the Marmara-region where Istanbul is located, there is a bit more humidity than the area around the Mediterranean.

It is obviously still warm there, but one should not be surprised if there is some rain in the summer period although the rain usually does not last that long. In winter, it is not unusual with snow, but snow does not last longer than a few days.

In the northern part of Turkey around the Black Sea, the eastern part is protected by the Caucasus Mountains. Here; the climate can be a bit rainy in the summer but in winter it will not become colder than 4 to 5 degrees, so there is not much snow here.

In the mountain area there are glaciers throughout the summer and the western part of the Black Sea has snow in winter.

Southwest
In the southeastern part of the Turkish Mediterranean coast you will find an incredibly warm climate. Temperatures here in the summer are constantly around 40 degrees and it is not uncommon to have temperatures of 50 degrees in summer.

Turkey’s inland, the Anatolian highlands are characterized by the heat in the summer and the cold and the snow in the winter.

The high altitude makes it colder at night, even in the summer, so if you plan to travel to Ankara, pack an extra sweater.

Read about Turkey’s weather and seasons