Israel, like Europe and other parts of the northern hemisphere, has been experiencing record-breaking temperatures this summer. According to data released recently by the Israeli Meteorological Service (IMS), seven places set a temperature record on July 25.
In Beit Dagan adjacent to Rishon LeZion, the mercury reached 39.8°C, half a degree warmer than the previous record. In Kibbutz Negbah near Kiryat Malakhi, the temperature hit a scorching 40.5°C, more than 2 degrees hotter than the previous record. In Sde Boker, the central Negev kibbutz where David Ben Gurion retired after his first term as Prime Minister, the high was a sizzling 40.9°C, marginally warmer than the old record.
The highest temperature the IMS recorded that day was in the Sdom industrial area by the Dead Sea, where thermometer reached a blistering 47.9°C, nearly three degrees warmer than the previous record.
The record-breaking heat wave had deleterious effects for many. Fifteen IDF reserve soldiers were treated for dehydration after their air conditioning failed due to too much electricity consumption.
The country’s highest temperature ever recorded was a torrid 54°C in Kibbutz Tirat Tzvi in the Jordan Valley on June 21, 1942.