"In 2024, the average temperature in Turkey was 15.6 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit), which is 1.7C higher than the average between 1991-2020," a statement said.

"2024 was the hottest year in the last 53 years," it said, referring to the year when Turkey began keeping records.

The previous record of 15.5 degrees was set in 2010.

Many countries, including China, Brazil, Japan and the United States also registered their hottest year on record in 2024, with India saying it logged the highest temperatures ever since 1901.

In Turkey, average temperatures have been higher than normal every year since 2007, "except in 2011", the agency added.

Last year, rainfall was 6.3 percent lower than normal, with the lack of rain most pronounced along the drought-hit Aegean coast in the west, where it was 22.4 percent lower.

In recent years, drought combined with over-exploitation of groundwater has sped up the formation of sinkholes, huge craters that have appeared in Konya, a vast central agricultural province which is Turkey's breadbasket.

The weather agency did not mention climate change but last month, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said 2024 was the world's hottest year on record, urging nations to pull back from the "road to ruin".

Last week, Europe's Copernicus climate monitor said average global temperatures had exceeded a critical 1.5C warming limit for the first time over the past two years.