Sinkholes in Turkey’s agricultural heartland are spreading at an accelerating pace, carving through fields in the country’s central Konya Basin as drought and groundwater depletion place growing strain on one of Turkey’s most important food-producing regions.
Across farmland producing maize, wheat, and sugar beet, vast craters have opened without warning, some clustered by the dozen in single fields. In mountainous areas nearby, ancient sinkholes that once held water have largely dried up, reflecting the severity of water stress across the region.
According to geologists studying the phenomenon, the number of sinkholes in the Konya Basin has risen sharply in recent years, transforming what was once a rare geological occurrence into a persistent risk for farmers and rural communities.
Groundwater decline accelerates across Konya Basin
The pace of sinkhole formation has increased alongside a dramatic drop in groundwater levels. Fetullah Arik, a geology professor at Konya Technical University who has been studying sinkholes in the region, said the total number has now reached nearly 700.
“The main reason for the increase in numbers is climate change and drought, which have affected the whole world since the 2000s,” Arik said. “As a result of this drought, the groundwater level is dropping slightly every year.”
Arik noted that groundwater levels in the basin are now falling by four to five metres annually, a sharp increase from declines of around half a metre per year in the early 2000s. As underground water recedes, cavities in the region’s soluble carbonate and gypsum rock lose support, raising the likelihood of sudden collapse.
Sinkholes in Turkey’s agricultural heartland
The Konya Closed Basin sits atop naturally “karst” terrain, where underground cavities form over thousands of years. While such geology makes the area inherently prone to subsidence, experts say sinkholes here were once uncommon, with only a handful recorded each decade before the 2000s.
The combination of prolonged drought and intensive irrigation has altered that balance. Reduced rainfall has limited the natural replenishment of underground aquifers, while high water demand for agriculture has pushed extraction far beyond recharge rates. Arik said the basin now contains around 120,000 unlicensed wells, compared with roughly 40,000 licensed ones.
“There is also an extremely high demand for water in this basin,” he said.
Growing risks for farmers and rural communities
For local farmers, the sinkholes represent an unpredictable and growing threat. Mustafa Sik, a farmer in Karapinar, said two sinkholes have opened on his land in the past two years. During the second incident in August 2024, his brother was working nearby when the ground collapsed.
“It formed with an extremely loud, terrifying rumbling sound,” Sik said.
A geological survey of Sik’s land identified two additional areas where sinkholes could form, though experts cautioned that it is not possible to predict when collapses will occur.
“Are we worried? Of course, we are very worried,” Sik said.
Turkey’s disaster agency AFAD has identified at least 684 sinkholes across the Konya Closed Basin, with clusters extending into neighbouring provinces. While no casualties have been reported to date, researchers warn that continued groundwater depletion could increase risks to farmland, infrastructure, and local livelihoods in the country’s agricultural core.
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