At least 2 hospitalized for heatstroke as Israel roasts under extreme heatwave

At least two people were hospitalized with heatstroke Friday, including one man who was in a critical condition, as an extreme heatwave continued to take its toll on Israel.

In the northern town of Kiryat Shmona a 50-year-old man was found lying in the street unconscious.

Medics carried out resuscitation efforts as they transferred him to the nearby Ziv Medical Center where he was placed on a ventilator. Doctors said he was in critical condition after suffering from dehydration and heatstroke.

In another case, medics treated a 57-year-old woman who also suffered from dehydration while on a hike near Nahal El Al in the Golan Heights. She was evacuated via helicopter to Poria Hospital where it was determined that she had also had heatstroke.

Police and rescue authorities cautioned Israelis against backpacking in the midst of an extreme heatwave, which had emergency medics dispatched across the country to treat those suffering from heatstroke and dehydration on Friday.

“Going out into nature in a state of extreme heat endangers hikers as well as rescuers,” police said, saying authorities had been receiving reports of stranded travelers throughout the week.

In the West Bank’s Wadi Qelt nature reserve, medics responded to two hikers who also got dehydrated while out under the desert sun. However, they did not require further medical attention, Magen David Adom said in a statement.

In a separate incident, a 19-year-old man died after collapsing during an outdoor party at the Pura Nature Reserve in southern Israel. Medics believed he had consumed alcohol in addition to suffering from heat stroke.

He was rushed to the nearby Soroka Hospital unconscious and in critical condition and doctors were carried out resuscitation efforts. He was pronounced dead several hours later.

Police said in a statement that the young man had suffered from alcohol poisoning, though it was not clear whether his condition was exacerbated due to the extreme heat.

Eight people were arrested for throwing the illegal party that he attended, police said.

Separately, thousands of residents from the towns of Pardesiya, Kfar Yona and the surrounding area in central Israel were left sweltering without air conditioning  Friday afternoon after power outages were reported.

The Israel Electric Company was responding to the widespread incident, but did not expect to be able to fix the problem until 6:00 p.m.

The temperature in Jerusalem had passed 39ºC (102ºF) as of 11:30 a.m., according to Israel Meteorological Service data, a day after the capital recorded an all-time high of 42ºC (107ºF) since record-keeping began in 1942.

The overnight temperature record was also broken in the capital, with the mercury rising to 31.5ºC (88.7ºF) — an increase of one degree on the previous high.

In the Red Sea resort town of Eilat, the mercury climbed to 43.7ºC (110.6ºF), while temperatures of 39.ºC were also recorded in the northern cities of Beit Shean and Tiberias.

The weather was cooler along the Mediterranean coast, with a temperature of 32ºC (89ºF) in Tel Aviv and 33ºC (91ºF) in Haifa.

The current heatwave has been unprecedented for Jerusalem, which usually enjoys slightly cooler weather than the rest of the country thanks to its location and relatively high altitude at some 800 meters (2,600 feet) above sea level.

Aside from 2010, the only other time since record-keeping began in 1942 that temperatures in Jerusalem reached above 39º C (102.2º F) was on Sunday, when a temperature of 39.6º C (103.3 F) was notched.

The Israel Meteorological Service said temperatures throughout the country were expected to drop slightly on Saturday before tapering off further in the coming days, but would remain above the seasonal average. However, temperatures were forecast to again spike on Thursday, when they will reach the upper 30s Celsius in Jerusalem, and higher elsewhere.