Fog analysis of airports in the northeast of Turkey in the last decade

Fog is one of the important meteorological phenomena that play a critical role in the aircraft flying conditions and at airports. Fog events can lead to serious damage to the airport operations and the economy due to low visibility conditions and interrupting transportation. This study aims to explain the characteristics of the fogs occurring at the airports of the Kars, Agrı, and Igdır cities where located in the northeast of Turkey and neighbouring Georgia, Armenia, Nakhchivan, and Iran, and evaluate fog types. Within the scope of the study, a total of 3792 foggy aviation routine weather reports (METAR) and selected aviation special weather reports (SPECI) observations of the 10 years; from 2011 to 2020 were used for Igdır Şehit Bülent Aydın Airport (International Civil Aviation Organization [ICAO] code: LTCT), Kars Harakani Airport (LTCF) and Agrı Ahmed-i Hani Airport (LTCO). During the time period studied, the number of foggy days in LTCT, LTCF, and LTCO was 41, 296, and 464, respectively. Fog events were most frequent from November to March, with December, January, and February being the most active months. August and September have no fog events in all three airports. Fog formation occurs usually at night hours and reaches a maximum around sunrise. Based on the physical formation mechanism, in LTCT, precipitation fog (PCP) was dominant at 39.02%; in LTCF and LTCO, radiation fog (RAD) was dominant at 33.11% and 58.84%, respectively.