Land subsidence rates increase rapidly in Konya Plain, Turkey

In September of this year, Euronews reported a surge in sinkholes in Turkey’s fertile Konya Plain, dubbed "the country’s granary". Specifically, the districts of Cihanbeyli, Yunak, Kulu, Sarayönü and Kadınhanı are affected, which are known for high grain production. The latest count of sinkholes surpasses the number of 2,600. According to Phys.org , this part of Central Anatolia has known sinkholes for centuries, but the recent rise in numbers are caused by increasing droughts that led to the overuse of groundwater for irrigation. Many of the sinkholes are as deep as 50 metres and are invisible from a distance in the large fields of corn, beetroot, wheat, and clover that dot the Konya plain, causing accidents that have led to death. 

Konya Technical University has established the  Sinkhole Application Research Centre (SARC), dedicated to the study of sinkholes. These sinkholes develop under natural conditions in regions where there are carbonate, sulphate, and chloride rocks suitable for dissolution. Groundwater dissolves the bedrock beneath the surface, causing the earth above it to sink in. The spread of sinkholes poses a danger to primarily residential areas and human life, agricultural areas, pastures, energy investment areas, transportation networks such as roads and railways, oil and natural gas pipelines, electricity, water, and other infrastructure investments. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and SARC are currently closely monitoring the situation to seek preventative measures.

Research carried out in Karaman, a city located in the southwest of the Konya Plain, finds that population growth and increased agricultural activities in Karaman and its surrounding region, have led to increasing water demand in recent years. Karaman's drinking- and irrigation water needs are also almost entirely met from groundwater. According to the results, there is a strong correlation between subsidence rates and groundwater levels over the analysed period, indicating that subsidence in the area is most likely driven by excessive groundwater withdrawal.

According to Nationmaster’s ranking of groundwater abstraction for agricultural purposes, Turkey's agricultural groundwater abstraction increased by an average of 3.1% per year since 1990, reaching 10,670 million m³ in 2019. As such, Turkey ranks as the third highest consumer of groundwater for agriculture in the world after the United States and Mexico.  

UNDP ‘s support programme for climate change adaptation in Turkey reports that the country is highly vulnerable to climate change. As part of the southern belt of Mediterranean Europe, the country is already facing an observed warming trend in temperatures and a decreasing trend in precipitation. This is having a major negative effect on water availability for food production and rural development, further exacerbating the social and regional disparities in a country characterized by a wide (and widening) gap between the eastern and southeastern provinces and the rest of the country.