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Global Warming/Droughts are Transforming Turkey's Landscape Through Massive Sinkholes (PHOTOS)

2026-06-29 20:19:28Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Global Warming/Droughts are Transforming Turkey's Landscape Through Massive
Droughts are transforming Turkey's landscape through massive sinkholes

In the heart of central Anatolia, where once stretched endless green fields of wheat and corn, the earth is cracking. Instead of the agricultural horizon that feeds an entire nation, today the landscape of Konya is interrupted by huge craters that suddenly open, swallowing the land from within.

The phenomenon of sinkholes is becoming a symbol of a broader crisis: global warming and uncontrolled exploitation of water resources. In one of these fields near Karapinar, a green space surrounded by a barbed wire fence hides a frightening reality.

A few steps further, the ground has collapsed, creating a deep chasm, so large that standing on its edge creates the sensation of an endless void. Farmers in the area say that such collapses are no longer a coincidence, but an increasingly frequent occurrence.

Konya, known as the “breadbasket of Turkey,” is one of the country’s most important agricultural regions. But the area is facing a dangerous paradox: as the need for food production grows, the resources that make it possible are becoming increasingly depleted.

Groundwater, which has sustained intensive agriculture for decades, is gradually disappearing. According to the Turkish Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), hundreds of sinkholes have been recorded in the Konya basin, some of them gigantic in size, reaching hundreds of meters in diameter and depth.

They are not caused by any immediate natural disaster, but by a slow process occurring beneath the surface.

Experts attribute this phenomenon to a combination of factors: prolonged droughts, climate change and intensive agriculture that relies on groundwater extraction. In this region, many farmers have been forced to use ever deeper, often illegal, wells to keep crops alive.

A large part of these waters are no longer able to be replenished naturally. As a result, the layers of the earth that were once held stable by the presence of water begin to collapse. Where there was previously geological equilibrium, today dangerous voids are created that suddenly appear on the surface.

According to studies by environmental organizations, a large number of wells in the region are illegal, while water consumption has significantly exceeded the natural capacity of renewal. This has created a situation where the land "borrows" water from the future to survive in the present, making the system increasingly unstable.

Sinkholes, once rare geological phenomena, are now appearing more and more frequently. Geologists explain that the region has a karst structure, where limestone rocks are susceptible to collapse when they lose the support of groundwater. In the absence of this “natural skeleton,” the land collapses like a hollow structure.

The problem is not only natural, but also economic and political. Agriculture in Konya is oriented towards crops that require large amounts of water, such as corn and sugar beets. These crops are subsidized, but in the long term they are contributing to the depletion of water resources and the destabilization of the land.

Experts warn that the situation could worsen in the coming years unless water management policies change. Proposed alternatives include a shift to more drought-resistant crops and stricter planning of water use in agriculture.

However, for local farmers, the choices are limited. They live off the land and are forced to continue producing, even as the land itself is losing its viability. In many cases, potholes have become part of their daily lives, a risk that cannot be ignored, nor can it be easily avoided.

Ultimately, the Konya sinkhole phenomenon is not just a local story. It reflects a broader global reality: how climate change and the uncontrolled use of natural resources are transforming the Earth. What happens below the surface today could determine whether tomorrow's farmlands will still exist or collapse along with their natural balance.

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