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Air pollution in Turkey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Air pollution kills more people than any of the other environmental issues in Turkey. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that 99% of the global population breathes unsafe air.[1][2] No province in Turkey meets the WHO guidelines for clean air.[3] In 2024 over 60,000 people are estimated to have died from air pollution-related illnesses.[4] Air pollution is particularly damaging to children's health.[5]
Road transport in Turkish cities and burning of coal in Turkey are major sources of pollutants.[6][7] There is no legal limit on fine particulates, which cause lung and other diseases.[8] Cars and lorries spread diesel exhaust, dust, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other fumes in cities.[9] There are no clean air zones and tariffs on electric cars are higher than on combustion cars.[9] Although electric vehicle manufacturing and sales are increasing, policy is said to be poorly co-ordinated,[10] and as of 2023[update] health impact assessment is not done in Turkey.[11]: 50
Soot from wood burning for cooking and heating pollutes households and some cities.[12] Low-quality lignite coal, burnt in cities and in the oldest of the country's coal-fired power stations, is also a big part of the problem.[13] Some plant specific pollution data is collected by the Environment Ministry[14]: 2 but it is not published. As of 2025[update] air quality in Turkey is below EU standards.[15]: 90 The civil society organization Right to Clean Air Platform Turkey estimates that the lack of a legal limit on fine particulates cost the economy 10% of GDP in 2024.[16]
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Illness and death
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Perspective
Air pollution has been shown to cause cancer[17] and to contribute to respiratory, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular diseases.[18][19] Asthma is expensive to treat[20] and can be caused by exposure to nitrogen oxides.[21] A study of air pollution and asthma in Niğde between 2006 to 2010 showed that reporting of asthma cases was closely related to ambient SO2 concentrations.[22] Daily variations in air pollutants were studied in İstanbul from 2013 to 2015 in relation to respiratory hospital admissions. The air pollutants PM2.5, NO2, and PM10 were shown to increase the risk of hospital admissions for respiratory diseases.[23] Another study examined air pollutants and pediatric emergency room visits to a tertiary hospital in Istanbul between January 2016 and December 2023. They reported that increases in NO, NOx, PM2.5, NO2, and PM10 were associated with more asthma-related pediatric visits to the emergency room.[24]
Right to Clean Air Platform Turkey estimates that one in seven deaths (68,000) in 2022 were due to air pollution.[16] Other estimates of annual excess mortality are somewhat lower, from 37,000 due to PM2.5[25] to 60,000 from fossil fuel use.[26]: 7 Although in many places the health effects of air pollution cannot be estimated, because there is not enough monitoring of PM10 and PM2.5 particulates,[27][28] average excess loss of life (compared to how many would be lost if WHO air pollution guidelines were followed) is estimated to be 0.4 years per person.[29] This will vary by location because air pollution is more severe in some cities.[30]
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Sources of air pollution
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Perspective
Air pollution in Turkey is a health risk mainly due to the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and diesel.[31][32]
Traffic
As of 2024 the National Energy Balance statistics do not split road transport fuel into petrol and diesel.[14]: 10 As of 2025[update] less than 5% of cars were electric or hybrid, with diesel, petrol and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) each over 30%.[33] Increasing Turkey's proportion of electric cars in use to 10% by 2030 would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey.[34] There are high purchase taxes on new cars.[35] There are no clean air zones and tariffs on electric cars are higher than on combustion cars.[9] Continued electrification of the rail network and high-speed line expansion are countermeasures being taken.[36]
Home heating and cooking
In 2022 most fine particulate (PM2.5) pollution in Turkey came from residential combustion for cooking and heating.[14]: 12 Despite economic growth in Turkey, the poorest families still use solid biomass fuels such as wood[37] which pollutes some cities.[38]: 122 [39][40] At a slightly higher level of energy source, people use charcoal and low-quality Turkish coal.[37][41][42] The use of these fuels increases indoor air pollution and is a health hazard, with lower-tier fuels being more harmful to human health.[37] Higher-income families may use modern fuels such as natural gas or electricity, which cause less pollution and can lead to better health outcomes. However, electricity is often insufficient to meet a family's heating needs. If electricity is supplemented by lower-quality biofuels, the biofuels will increase indoor air pollution levels, and decrease health outcomes.[37]
Those most likely to suffer ill-health as a result, are women, children, and the elderly, who may spend more time indoors and deal with cooking. Income, education, and homeownership were associated with use of higher-grade heating and cooking fuels and better health.[37]
Passive smoking
More than a quarter of adults smoke in Turkey,[43] and passive smoking is a danger in itself[44] and increases the risk of respiratory infection.[45]
Industry and construction
New industrial facilities must achieve at least a Class D Industrial Green Transformation Certificate (70% compliance with Best Available Techniques[46]), whereas existing facilities will be required to obtain a minimum Class F (50%) before 2029 and a minimum Class D certification before 2030.[47] This is below the recommended levels of the EU Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive (IED 2.0).[15]: 90
Air pollution from cement production is one of the environmental impacts of concrete.[48] Although asbestos was completely banned in 2010, it can still be a risk in some older buildings, when older buildings are demolished,[49] and in dumps.[50][51] In some rural areas of Turkey, deposits of regulated asbestos minerals and non-regulated fibrous minerals such as erionite occur naturally, increasing the risk of mesothelioma.[52][53]
The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) says that pollution from coal-fired power stations causes a lot of illness and early deaths.[54] As of 2025[update] legal action continues.[55] As of 2025 allegations of inadequate filtering continue.[56][57]
Greenpeace Mediterranean say that the coal-fired power plants in Afşin-Elbistan are the power plants with the highest health risk in a European country, followed by Soma power station.[58][59]
Other
Wildfires and dust blown from the Sahara (PM10[60]) sometimes pollute.[61]
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Types and levels
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Levels of all types of pollutants across the country are above World Health Organization guidelines.[62][63] Wood burning is a major source of indoor air pollution and contributes to outdoor air pollution.[37] Particulates from transportation fuel use and tyre wear of vehicles are a danger to people's lungs. Regulations in Turkey do not contain restrictions on particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5), which cause lung diseases.[64] There is no limit on PM2.5[65] and limits for other pollutants (except SO2) are above WHO guidelines:
Although there is some monitoring of air pollution, many air pollution indicators are not available.[68][69] The air quality index in Turkey does not include particles smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), but does include nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, tropospheric ozone and particles between 10 and 2.5 microns in diameter (PM10).[70]
There are hourly, daily and yearly average limits for various pollutants in the area around a coal-fired power station, defined as a radius 50 times the chimney height:[71][72]
Other
NO2 in cities such as Ankara is visible from satellites.[73] Diesel vehicles emit diesel exhaust NOx and other air pollutants in cities.[74] Emissions of sulphur dioxide from coal-fired power stations are significant.[75] Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) come from some industry.[76] The emission levels of persistent organic pollutants are regulated,[77] but totals for these emissions were not reported in 2019.[78] Ankara suffers from ozone pollution.[79] There is ammonia pollution from agriculture.[80]
Turkey emits about one percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.[81] Because most of the air pollution is caused by burning fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey would also be reduced by, for example, low emission zones for city traffic, and replacing the distribution of free coal with a different support for poor families.[82] In other words, helping to limit climate change would be a co-benefit of the main health benefits, and health improvement would be a co-benefit of climate change mitigation.
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Monitoring and reporting
In 2023 the Right to Clean Air Platform said that half of the 360 Ministry of Environment and Urbanization monitoring stations were not working properly.[83] As there is no pollutant release and transfer register law there is no obligation for industry to publish pollution levels[84] and Turkey has not ratified the Gothenburg Protocol on air pollution.[85]
Some industrial companies reach Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 305 emissions standard.[86] There is a pollutant release and transfer register, but as of September 2024 no years are publicly searchable because it is not yet technically complete, and it is not known what exemptions will be granted.(see FAQ).[87] It is not known when the register will be completed.[14]: 14 There are 8 regional clean air centres.[88]
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Cities
Many cities in Turkey are more polluted than typical European cities.[89] Some countries are taking steps to counter pollution: for example, the capital of neighbouring Bulgaria is introducing a low emission zone and restricting coal and wood burning.[90]
Pollution in Istanbul has lessened since the 1990s,[91] but traffic is still unhealthy.[92] Street dust is potentially toxic.[93] NO2 is visible in measurements by Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3.[94] Pollution worsens when high-pressure areas prevent pollutants from dispersing and trap them near the ground.[95] Most particles are ultrafine, and researchers say that ultrafine and black carbon should be continuously monitored.[96]
As of 2022[update], industry located within the city of Bursa is a particular problem.[97] NO2 is visible in satellite measurements.[98] A higher rate of multiple sclerosis may be related to local industry in Ereğli.[99]
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Politics
The Climate Change and Air Management Coordination Board is responsible for coordination between government departments. As of 2019[update], however, according to the EU, better coordinated policies need to be established and implemented.[30]
Turkey has not ratified the Gothenburg Protocol,[100] although it has ratified the original Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution[101] and those reports are public.[14] Pollution affects neighbouring countries.[102][103] The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, 16 km over the border, is old and said to be insufficiently earthquake proof.[104][105]
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Economics
In 2025 the OECD said that poor air quality is a structural weakness in the economy.[106] The impact of air pollution on the economy via damage to health may be billions of euros.[107][108] A study of 2015-16 hospital admissions in Erzincan estimated direct costs of air pollution as 2.5% of the total health-related expenditures for the 15–34 and over 65 age groups, but stated that the total cost is likely much higher:[109] for example, the economic costs of the reductions in the intelligence of adults[110] and children[111] have not been estimated. According to medical group Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), reducing PM2.5 air pollution in the country would substantially increase GDP.[112]
According to the OECD, in 2019 bitumen's exemption from special consumption tax was a subsidy of 5.9 billion lira.[113] Bitumen, also known as asphalt, is used for road surfaces and in hot weather releases secondary organic aerosols, which can damage people's health in cities.[114]
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Proposed solutions
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In the Constitution of Turkey, Article 56 reads, "Everyone has the right to live in a healthy and balanced environment. It is the duty of the State and citizens to improve the natural environment, to protect the environmental health and to prevent environmental pollution."[115]
Quitting coal is said to be essential.[116] Strengthening environmental laws is said to benefit the economy of Turkey.[117] According to the HEAL, over 500 premature deaths could be avoided per year by shutting down three power stations in Muğla.[118]
Electric ferryboats have been proposed for the Bosphoros.[119][120][121] A low-emission zone for road traffic has been suggested for Istanbul[122] and it has been suggested that Turkey's vehicle tax system should be changed to better charge for pollution.[123] More green space is suggested for cities.[124] Taxing pollution by internal flights and further improvement of railways has been suggested.[125]
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History
Indoor wood burning has polluted at least since the Neolithic.[126] Lead was first smelted around 5000 BC in Anatolia and in 535 AD Justinian I acknowledged the importance of clean air.[127] In the 19th century air pollution was thought of in terms of miasma, the idea that foul smells could cause disease.[128]
Due to the high cost of oil after the 1970s oil crisis, cities burnt more lignite for residential heating. An Air Pollution Control Regulation was issued in the 1980s and air quality monitoring began in that decade.[129] In early 2020 most air pollution in major cities fell significantly due to the COVID-19 restrictions,[130] but tropospheric ozone (a leading cause of smog) increased as there were fewer particles to block the sunlight.[131] Air pollution started to rise again by the middle of the year.[63]
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