Last month 
was Israel’s hottest June on record. Highest average temperature in most areas was three degrees Celsius above multiyear average.

Women suntanning on Haifa beach, June, 2016.  Photo: Hagai Frid

Temperatures soared to record-breaking heights in most parts of the country last month, according to a report by the Israel Meteorological Service.

According to the report, the maximum temperature — the highest temperature measured during a 24-hour period — was the highest ever recorded, at 1 degree Celsius above the average daily temperature for June.

The highest maximum daily temperature recorded at the meteorological station in Beit Dagan last month was 32.2 degrees Celsius, compared to a previous maximum of 30.8 degrees. At the meteorological station at Beit Jimal, near Beit Shemesh, the maximum last month was 34.6 degrees. The previous high, recorded in 1923, was 33.1 degrees Celsius. The weather agency noted that June 2015 was relatively cool, with maximum and average temperatures that were 4 to 5 degrees lower than June of this year inland and at higher elevations.

In most of the country the average daily temperature exceeded the average for the entire 1995 to 2009 period by nearly three degrees. In some areas the gap was even higher. The average temperature at night exceeded the multiyear average by 1.5 degrees to 2.5 degrees.

Zafrir Rinat

Haaretz Correspondent
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