The national Meteorological Service forecasts for the next three days a gradual rise of the temperature, which on the weekend will reach 40 degrees Centigrade.
State services are on the alert to face any problems caused by the heatwave.
The situation is tragic in northwestern Turkey, following Tuesday's destructive earthquake, as the number of dead and injured is growing. The toll so far is about 4,000 people dead and more than 20,000 others injured. Rescue teams are making superhuman efforts to find survivors under the rubble. Meanwhile, a fire which broke out in the Tupras oil refinery in Izmit and was raging for 3 days has been put under partial control. Turkish prime minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday expressed optimism as far as putting out the fire in the oil refinery was concerned, saying there were new developments at the refinery.