Israel girds for fresh scorcher as heat wave bears down
Temperatures projected to climb over the weekend and into next week; Health Ministry issues warning to public
Israel was bracing for another heat wave next week, with temperatures expected to top 37° Celsius (99° Fahrenheit) in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Sunday.
The raging temperatures are to climb on Saturday, peak on Sunday, and continue for several days. Extremely hot weather is expected nationwide, including 44° in Tiberias (111°F), 42° in Beersheba (107°F), and 39° in Lod (°102F).
The Health Ministry urged the public, in particular elderly citizens and people suffering from chronic diseases, to avoid exposure to the sun and heat as much as possible, avoid physical exercise and to drink water.
The heat wave comes after temperatures last week led to two deaths.
A one-year-old baby hospitalized last week for heatstroke died Saturday morning. Her father was also hospitalized Monday with heatstroke and dehydration after the family hiked in the northern Hula Valley.
And last week, 18-year-old IDF soldier Dan Sela died of heatstroke after collapsing in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The soaring temperatures were even deadlier in Egypt, killing at least 42 people this week, including a German resident, patients in a psychiatric hospital and detainees, officials said Tuesday.
AP contributed to this report.