İstanbul, March 19 () - Temperature in Istanbul, Turkey’s most populous city, might increase to as high as 45 degrees Celsius and sea level in the city is “likely to rise after 2050” due to the adverse effects of climate change, according to Prof. Dr. Levent Kurnaz at Boğazici University. “The sea level will rise to cover the entrance of the metro in the Kadıköy district on the Asian side of the city” Kurnaz said, adding that the impact of climate change will be felt across the country, especially after 2050. Starting from 2070, the regions to the west of the Erzincan province are likely to receive no snow, according to Kurnaz, the Director of the Center for Climate Change and Policy Studies at Boğaziçi University. He suggested the southern half of Turkey would become a desert after 2100. The temperature in the country’s southern regions, which currently hovers around 38-40 degrees Celsius, will increase to 45-50 degrees, Kurnaz said, adding that such a dramatic change will have far reaching consequences and might also affect the country’s tourism industry.