Israel swelters as weeklong heatwave breaks records, says Meteorological Service

Temperatures over the past seven days have been 7 to 11 degrees Celsius above average, the Israel Meteorological Service reports, citing data for March 12 to 18 — apparently relying on a forecast for today.

The mercury hit above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in southern Israel’s Negev desert, the eastern valleys, and the lowlands, and on some days neared 35° C (95°F) or more in the Jordan Valley and the southern Arava Desert. On the coastal plain, it was hotter than 30°C on most days, and in the central mountains — which include Jerusalem — the temperature ranged from 26° to 29°C (78.8° to 84.2° F).

The service says the sequence of hot days is unusual for this time of year, with similar cases occurring only in 2010 and 2004. In the northern valleys, the Jordan Valley, and the Eilat area, it was unprecedented.

In Eilat, a temperature of 37.9°C (100.2° F) on one day broke the all-time record for March, and in Kfar Blum, in the north, a reading of 35.2°C (95.4° F) broke the bar for the first half of March.