The Af?in A plant in the southeastern province of Kahramanmara?, the Seyitömer and Tunçbilek plants in western province of Kütahya, the Kangal plant in the central province of Sivas and the Çatala?z? plant in the northern province of Zonguldak have been entirely shut down, state-run Anadolu news agency quoted Kurum as saying.

The Soma thermal power plant in Manisa has been partially shut down.

The plants will not be allowed to operate without taking the necessary environmental precautions, Anadolu said.

The closures follow a move by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an last month to veto a bill postponing the installation of filters to over a dozen thermal power plants until 2022.

The bill, supported by the ruling AKP and its ally far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), passed in parliament on Nov. 21, had sparked reactions from environmental groups, including WWF Turkey and Greenpeace Mediterranean.

Greenpeace in early November called for the closure of 15 thermal power plants in Turkey. It shared measurements that showed air pollution around thermal power plants in the western province of Kütahya was three times higher than the limits set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).