A low birth rate, the exhaustion of the male population by military service, and a large mortality from epidemics brought about a decline which has lately been hastened by emigration. The Turkish rural population around Kayılar was mainly composed of Konariot shepherds. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Ptolemaida was part of the Manastir Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. Modern period Ptolemaida was occupied by the Greek forces on 15 October 1912 during the First Balkan War, and later incorporated into the Greece. In 1924, the Turkish population was exchanged with Greeks from Anatolia following the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Since then, Ptolemaida became a majority Greek city once again. In the 1970s, Greece's largest coal-fired power plants were built in the region of Ptolemaida, these increased pollution and it is expected these will be shut down by the year 2028. Culture Ptolemaida's football club is called "Eordaikos" (). Other teams include AE Ptolemaidas. Ptolemaida has schools, lyceums, gymnasia, churches, banks, a post office, a train station (Kozani - Florina), a police station, a water tower, and squares (plateia). There is the potential of a university being established by the state in the near future. The Anthropological and Folklore Museum is based in the town. Economy The most important lignite deposits in Greece are located in the north of the country at Ptolemais-Amynteon and Florina (approximately 1.5 billion tonnes) which contribute around 80% of national production. Other than its highly lignite-rich reserves, Ptolemaida is a highly industrialized area. The four power plants in this area produce 70% of Greece's electrical power, using the large local deposits of lignite as fuel. The plants are owned by the Public Power Corporation (DEI), the major employer in the city. The plant was inaugurated by the Prime minister of Greece at that time, Constantine Karamanlis. The other two are in Amyntaio in Florina regional unit and in Agios Dimitrios. Education The School of Health Sciences of University of Western Macedonia with two departments (Occupational Therapy and Midwifery) based in the city. Climate The city, situated in the middle of the Eordaia plain of Western Macedonia, has a humid continental climate (Dfb). Summers can be hot with thunderstorms in unsettled spells, whereas winters are among the coldest in Greece. It was here that the absolute low temperature record of Greece was recorded ( on 27 January 1963). Demographics According to the