ISTANBUL, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged citizens on Saturday to save water as much as possible as the water levels in Turkey's dams are continuously falling due to low precipitations.

File photo: agencies

"We are having a very dry year... We must all be careful about saving water," Erdogan said, addressing the opening ceremony of a dam in the southeastern province of Gaziantep via videoconference.

"Turkey does not have rich water resources. Therefore, we must use the available means in the most efficient way possible," he noted.

The Turkish leader also said that there was a significant increase in the use of water for cleaning purposes due to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We must join hands as institutions and citizens. We need efficient and economical water management," he pointed out.

The water level in the dams of Istanbul, Turkey's most populous city with a population of 16.5 million, and those in the capital Ankara dropped to 22 percent, according to the latest municipal data.

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli had recently said that the water resources of Turkey's big cities, including Istanbul and Ankara, would be sufficient for only a few more months.