Record highs in Eilat as heat wave hits Israel

A heat wave swept through Israel on Saturday, with Eilat recording a record high of 47.9 degrees Celsius (118 F).

The previous June high in Israel’s southernmost city was recorded in 1961, when the temperature reached 47.4 C (117). The highest temperature ever recorded in Eilat was 48.3 C (119).

Other parts of the country where the temperature topped 40 C (104 F) included the Golan Heights region, the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee and Beersheba.

Meanwhile, Jerusalem saw a high of 38 C (100 F).

The Israel Electric Corporation also reported record-high demand nationwide.

June’s warm temperatures followed an unseasonably rainy May in which an early month freak storm caused the Sea of Galilee to rise some 2.5 centimeters (1 inch), a record for the month. The precipitation brought dry riverbeds to life, flooding low-lying areas, especially in the Judean Desert and Negev in the south of the country.