Scorching July 2017 was one of Israel’s hottest on record

Some like it hot. But even those Israelis who appreciate a good braising on the beach have likely spent the last couple of months searching for air-conditioned oases.

That’s because the country is in the midst of one of the hottest summers in its 69-year history, if not the hottest.

The average temperature in July was among the highest in years, and August seems headed for the record books as well, Israel’s Meteorological Service said Tuesday.

Amid soaring temperatures across the globe, July registered as nearly three degrees Celsius hotter than the Israeli average, falling only slightly short of the record 2015 and 2000 summers.

Across the country, the daytime temperature was between 1.5°C and 2.5°C (2.7°F-4.5°F), warmer and at night it peaked at one and two degrees Celsius (1.8°F-3.6°F) above average.

The average daytime high in Jerusalem hit 32.9°C, well above the 30°C degree average for the capital. In Beit She’an, in the sweltering Jordan Valley, the month averaged a high of 39.2°C, compared to an average of 37.6°C.

The Meteorological Service said the averages were pushed up by three prolonged heatwaves that hit the country during the month.

July 2017 was also hotter than almost all Augusts — generally the hottest month of the year — on record. Only August 2012 and 2015 were warmer.

The Meteorological Service officially began keeping records in 1937, though some routine measurements began already in the decades before.