Unholy heat series#

People enjoy a hot summer day at the Ein Lavan Spring in the Jerusalem Mountains, August 30, 2020. Those extremes could not be attributed to the global trends of climate change being seen now. A report from the service released in mid-September noted that it had happened three times before in Jerusalem’s history since 1860: June 1942, July 1888 and August 1881, when that record 44.4º C temperature was recorded. The event appeared extraordinary, especially given that according to the IMS, temperatures in Jerusalem have only crossed the 40º C threshold seven times since 1950, including those three days. In Jerusalem, highs spiked to above 40º C (104º F) for three days in a row. The extreme heat, which was felt throughout the region and in Europe as well, was registered as an anomaly, and in Israel was attributed to hot easterly winds blowing in from the Arabian peninsula, circling around a low-pressure system. There are signs, though, that the heat seen in September was not an every year event. Israelis make their way into a water spring to cool off, during a heat wave that is affecting the region, at Wadi Qelt, near the West Bank city of Jericho, Friday, Sept. The month of September, which supplied 18 of the year’s heatwave days, broke records across Israel, becoming the hottest September on record in Jerusalem and most of the rest of the country, according to a report from the IMS. “Temperatures in Israel have gone up by around 1.4 degrees between 19, with most of the increases happening over the past 30 years.”

Assuming that the year is not a major outlier, this upcoming decade would see some 400 heatwave days in Jerusalem. and from 2010 to 2019 there were a whopping 230 days in which the temperature reached or surpassed the toasty threshold.Īs of October 8, this year has seen 40 heatwave days. The next decade, Jerusalem experienced temperatures of 33º C or higher 137 times. From 1990 to 1999 there were 127 heatwave days. The next two decades actually saw a cooling trend: From 1970 to 1979 there were only 64 heat wave days, and from 1980 to 1989 there were 98 such days.Īnd then the heat began to build again. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)Īccording to data from the IMS, from 1950 to 1959 there were a total of 99 days in which the high temperature in Jerusalem hit 33º C or higher.įrom 1960 to 1969 the number climbed to 119 days. Israelis enjoy the beach in Tel Aviv, as temperatures rise to 40 degrees in some parts of the country, May 16, 2020. At the same time, before 1990, it was not uncommon for whole years to pass in which the mercury only hit the milestone once or twice, if at all. Most years see a few handfuls of days that reach above 33º C, and every few years the city may even see a string of six or seven days, according to an analysis of IMS data. The lack of humidity also helps make the city a refuge from the muggy climate that envelopes Tel Aviv and most of central Israel.

Unholy heat series#

Yoav Yair, Dean of the School of Sustainability at the Interdisciplinary Center, a Herzliya-based university better known as IDC, a series of days with temperatures of 33º C (91.4º F) or higher is the threshold for a heatwave in Jerusalem.ĭays of 33º C or higher are not overly common in the capital, which usually enjoys cooler temperatures than coastal Israel thanks to its elevation some 750 meters (2,460 feet) above sea level. A look at the daily temperature data compiled by the Israel Meteorological Service over the last 70 years provides a sweat-inducing peek at just how hot Jerusalem is becoming, and how temperatures and heatwaves once regarded as rare have become commonplace.Īccording to Prof. While the extremeness of the temperatures was terrifying, scientists say that what is more ominous are the larger trends and how long the heat waves are lasting. The unprecedented run included two days, September 3 and 4, during which the temperature hit 42.3º C and 42.7º C respectively, the highest temperatures Jerusalem had seen in over 100 years, bested only by the 44.4º C, reached on two days in August 1881, according to the Israel Meteorological Service.

The fact that September 2020 was the hottest month in recorded history in Jerusalem likely comes as no surprise to anyone who sweated through the heatwave that blanketed the city.