Ilan Ben Zion is an AFP reporter and a former news editor at The Times of Israel.
Tel Aviv coastline blanketed in haze Tuesday. (photo credit: Matanya Tausig/Flash90)
Heavy haze laden with dust cloaked Israel Tuesday, blotting out the sky and threatening the health of the elderly and infirm.
High winds, moisture, and airborne particulates swept over the Mediterranean from North Africa, blanketing Israel from north to south with an impenetrable gray haze. According to Army Radio, the Environmental Protection Ministry cautioned the elderly, sufferers of heart conditions, pregnant women, and children to refrain from outdoor exertions.
View of Haifa swathed in heavy haze Tuesday. (photo credit: Avishag Shaar Yashuv/Flash90)
In addition to health risks, Yedioth Ahronoth warned that the high winds could result in felled trees, decreased control of motor vehicles, and power outages.
View of the Bahai Temple in Haifa under heavy haze Tuesday. (photo credit: Avishag Shaar Yashuv/Flash90)
Clouds enveloped Israel’s major cities, limiting visibility and causing transportation problems. The extreme weather prompted the cancellation of flights to and from Tel Aviv’s Dov Hoz Airport and Eilat’s regional airport, according to Kol Israel Radio.
Tel Aviv's Reading power plant, abutting Dov Hoz Airport, amidst the haze (photo credit: Matanya Tausig/Flash90)
The haze was formed by a deep atmospheric depression over southern Greece which caused a southwesterly flow of North African dust, and is forecast to dissipate on Wednesday.
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Palestinians walk in the street a during cold winds and sand storms in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah Tuesday. (photo credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90)
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