Israel’s July temperatures over past eight years were 2.8°C higher than 1950-1979
In run-up to Earth Day, Taub Center also reports 1.8 degree jump in year-round average Israeli temperatures for period of 2014 to 2024, compared to 1950 to 1979
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
New figures released in the run-up to Earth Day on Tuesday show that average maximum July temperatures in Israel over the past eight years (2016-2024) were a staggering 2.8°C (5°F) higher than they were between 1950 and 1979.
The research was published by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, based on data collected by the Israel Meteorological Service’s weather station in central Jerusalem from 1950 to 2024.
Looking at figures for the entire year, it found an average temperature increase of 1.8°C (3.2°F) for the period 2014 to 2024, compared to the period 1950 to 1979.
Israel is known as a climate “hotspot” because it is warming faster than the global average.
The 2015 Paris Accord, to which Israel is a signatory, aims to cap global warming at 2°C (3.6°F), and preferably at 1.5°C (2.7°F), compared to pre-industrial levels.
In March, the World Meteorological Organization released its State of the Global Climate report, confirming that 2024 was likely the first calendar year to be more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. It was the warmest year in the 175-year observational record.
The WMO report showed that atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide were at their highest levels in 800,000 years, that each of the past 10 years set new global records for the hottest temperatures, and that each of the past eight years set a new record for ocean heat content.
Maya Sadeh, head of the Taub Center’s Environmental and Health Research and Policy Initiative, said, “The significance of the temperature increase (in Israel)… goes far beyond a statistical figure. This situation, which is expected to continue and intensify, has an immediate impact on lifestyle habits and quality of life, health, society, and the economy.”
She continued, “State authorities have a heavy responsibility toward us citizens in this regard and must prepare to save lives in cases of climate emergencies as well as ensure physical conditions that will enable health, quality of life, and prosperity, such as cooling spaces using trees and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We also have a responsibility to demand that decision-makers act on the issue and adapt our behavior to the changing conditions.”
The Times of Israel Community.