An extreme climate situation is operating in the touristic province of Antalya in Turkey at the moment: steam clubs obscured the sea and the city from view last Wednesday morning. Very high humidity against the background of heat turned the resort into a “steam room”. This effect was reflected in flight activity: several planes were unable to land at the airport and were diverted to other regions.
Until recently, tourists in Antalya were enjoying normal seasonal temperatures, but then the humidity level confidently began to rise. Note that the optimal humidity for a pleasant vacation at a seaside resort in August for most tourists is about 50-60%. This provides pleasant conditions for vacations, where the humidity is not too high, which can cause discomfort, and not too low, to avoid drying out the skin and mucous membranes. However, in Antalya, the level of humidity this month is “off the scale”.
According to the Turkish publication Hurriyet, in those places where the thermometer rose above +30 ° C, the humidity reached an extreme 85%. In turn, the increase in moisture provoked the formation of dense clouds and vapors that engulfed the city and the seascape. Visibility decreased due to increased humidity, and the peaks of Mount Beidaga, usually visible on the horizon, disappeared behind a veil of clouds. It was clarified that even from a bird’s eye view, the sea panorama is not visible in such weather.
Air traffic was destabilized due to thick clouds and steam. The airport did not allow several planes carrying tourists to land because visibility was very low. All of them were redirected to the airstrips of neighboring cities.
As for the tourists who are vacationing in the resorts of the southern province at this time, they spend time on the beach and try to lower their body temperature by periodically diving into the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.