Record-breaking heatwave has peaked; temperatures expected to normalize Saturday

The weather in Israel was expected to cool somewhat on Friday as a week-long heatwave approached its end, with temperatures expected to return to normal summer levels on Saturday.

The heat in Jerusalem was expected to peak at 34°C (93°F) on Friday, while in Tel Aviv the forecast was for a maximum of 31°C (88°F).

In Eilat, on Israel’s southern tip, temperatures were expected to reach 44°C (111°F), while Kiryat Shmona near the border with Lebanon was due to reach 38°C (100°F) and Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, could crack 40°C (104°F).

On Saturday, the capital was expected to get no hotter than 30°C (86°F), with Tel Aviv at a maximum of 29°C (84°F) Some areas in the south will still reach 40°C (104°F), and the north into the mid-30s.

Temperatures will drop still further early next week.

The cooldown comes at the end of a record-breaking week-long heatwave that saw temperatures in the West Bank shoot as high as 49.7°C (121.5°F) on Wednesday.

The heatwave took the lives of at least three people — two older men who died of heatstroke and one young girl who was left in a vehicle. Rescue operations were also required to save hikers who set off amid the record heat against authorities’ instructions.

The Nature and Parks Authority has prohibited entry into hiking trails in open areas until Saturday night, with the exception of short trails with shade and places to access drinking water, which are open in the early morning.

The Health Ministry has also recommended that people limit their time outdoors and in the sun and take other necessary precautions to avoid heatstroke, dehydration and other health issues.

Electricity use hit record numbers this week with 17,287 gigawatts consumed on Thursday, an unprecedented number that stands 25% above a normal summer day and 11% above the previous record, according to Channel 12.

The military said Thursday it was working on a response for troops suffering amid the heatwave, with the chief of the IDF Technology and Logistics Directorate, Maj. Gen. Mishel Yanko is establishing a “special team to handle the matter.”

On Wednesday, Sayarim Base in the southern Negev Desert, near Eilat, suffered power outages, leaving trainees in 48°C (118° F) heat without air conditioning for hours. Most were subsequently evacuated, and those who stayed to guard the base were in air-conditioned rooms where the power supply had been fixed, the army said.

Troops operating in the Gaza Strip have also been supplied with kits that include portable air conditioners and generators. There have been no complaints of malfunctions coming from troops in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, the military said Thursday.

The soaring temperatures come after more than half of Europe and the Mediterranean basin were hit by drought in July for the fourth consecutive month, according to an AFP analysis of European Drought Observatory data.

Israel is a climate “hotspot,” where temperatures are rising faster than the global average. In 2020, Israel experienced its hottest recorded day ever, though the hottest ever temperature recorded was in 1942, before the state was established, with a temperature of 54°C (129.2°F) recorded at Tirat Zvi in the Beit She’an Valley.

Last month, the IMS predicted that average temperatures inland and in the mountains could rise by 4.5-5°C on average by the end of the century, and by 3-3.5°C along the coast and in the lowlands.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.