Jewish and Arab men enjoy a refreshing swim in a mountain spring near Jerusalem on May 27, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Israelis scrambled to cool off Wednesday in the face of a scorching heatwave, which sparked brush fires, caused flight delays and led to numerous cases of dehydration and fainting.
Temperatures topped 100º F (38º C) in most parts of the country, according to the Israel Meteorological Service, with some places recording the highest May temperatures since 1970.
Some cities in southern Israel reported highs of 111º F, the private Meteo-Tech weather forecasting company said, including communities near the resort city of Eilat.
Paran, just north of Eilat, notched the highest temperature in the country, topping out at 113º F (45º C).
In Tel Aviv, residents sweated through 108º F (42º C) temperatures, while Jerusalemites were treated to a relatively cool high of 100º F (38º C) according to Meteo-tech.
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In Nahal Besor, in the northern Negev, 111.7º F (44.3º C) marked the highest ever recorded temperature, according to the Israel Hayom newspaper.
On Wednesday night, lingering stifling heat was accompanied by tropical rain showers in several locations throughout the country, the service reported.
Blazes were reported in the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, outside of Beit Shemesh, and in the northern West Bank.
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The heatwave is expected to break later Thursday, with seasonal averages returning and a further cooling over the weekend that could bring some unseasonable sprinkles.
An Israeli man enjoys a mountain spring outside of Jerusalem, on May 27, 2015, Extremely high heat hit Israel with temperatures passing 100 degrees Fahrenheit in most of the country. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)Israelis play in a water fountain on an unseasonably hot summer day near the Tower of David in the Old City of Jerusalem on May 27, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)Israelis use umbrellas to ward off the strong summer sun on central Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Blvd. during a heavy heat wave that struck the country on May 27, 2015. (Ben Kelmer/Flash90)Palestinians and Israelis hang out by a mountain spring near Jerusalem on May 27, 2015, as temperatures in Israel reached 111 degrees Fahrenheit. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)Palestinian children jump in the water of the Mediterranean Sea in Gaza City on May 27, 2015. (Adel Hana/AP)Palestinian families enjoy themselves at the Gaza City beach of the Mediterranean Sea in in the northern Gaza Strip on May 27, 2015. The region is experiencing a heat wave with temperatures reaching about 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the Gaza Strip. (Adel Hana/AP)Elephants enjoy a cooling dunk at Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo on a scorching summer day on May 27, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)A brown bear eats a watermelon inside a pool at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, on May 27, 2015, as temperatures in Israel topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)A fire rages in the southern Israeli city of Rahat, due to freak hot and dry conditions on May 27, 2015. Temperatures reached over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of the country. (Talucho/Flash90)Firefighters rush to a fire in the southern Israel on May 27, 2015. The unusually hot and dry conditions caused several brush-fires in parts of the country. (Albert Sadikov/Flash90)
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