Temperatures have been above average for the season this year in the region of Mersin, southern Turkey.
This has triggered a drought that is responsible for the deaths of millions of bees.
The beekeepers’ association says that the drought was caused by global warming. It is responsible for a decrease in the production of honey of up to 70%-80% less than usual in that province.
The effect of the high temperatures was two-fold. It not only caused a decrease in the amount of nectar and pollen producing plants from which bees derive their nutrition to produce honey, but it also caused millions of bees to die from the relentless heat and lack of natural habitat.
The news in this blog post is a stark contrast to a video from just four years ago in 2016 that showed Turkey's bee business defied the problems of bee decline in other countries around the world, as reported by TRT World in this 3-minute video:
These abrupt changes have had an adverse effect on beekeeping in the region.
Demirören News Agency (DHA) reported that according to the head of the Mersin Beekeepers Association, Adem Kurt, there will be a possible 7%-8% increase in honey prices due to the lower yield.
According to Kurt, global warming has caused an 80% loss so far for beekeepers in the Toros region. And since honey is the main food of those bees, and there is a decrease in the natural production of honey, the bees are starving to death. Serious losses in the number of colonies has been reported.
He considers that about 50% of the lost beehives are due to global warming problems of one sort or another. He has called on officials to regulate insecticide use and agricultural activities in the area to prevent potential harm to bee colonies.
If we find more information on this we will share it here on the blog.