Temperatures across Israel dropped Saturday, easing after a weeklong heat wave that shattered records, brought rare summer rain to Jerusalem and left at least one person dead.
The Israel Meteorological Service said temperatures returned to seasonal averages after climbing to historic highs during the past week. Forecasters said a slight further drop is expected Sunday, mainly in the mountains and inland, while Monday and Tuesday should see little change.
The heat wave set several all-time records since Israel began recording temperatures. At Kibbutz Gilgal in the central Jordan Valley, the thermometer reached 49.7°C, a mark broken several times over the week. On Tuesday night, recorded as the hottest night so far in 2025, Gilgal registered a heat index of 39.2, combining temperature and humidity.
The unusual weather also produced tropical-like conditions that caused rain in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, a man in his 70s died of heatstroke in Eilat, where temperatures at a lifeguard station on the Red Sea coast reached 51.1°C.
Forecast highs and lows for Saturday and Saturday night included: Jerusalem 32°/21°, Tel Aviv 31°/26°, Haifa 30°/26°, Safed 31°/20°, Katzrin 35°/23°, Tiberias 37°/26°, Nazareth 32°/23°, Afula 35°/24°, Beit She’an 38°/26°, Lod 33°/25°, Ashdod 31°/26°, Ein Gedi 38°/28°, Beersheba 34°/24°, Mitzpe Ramon 32°/20°, and Eilat 41°/30°.