The Water Authority said Sunday that this winter is on course to be the driest in a century, with just 55 percent of the yearly average for this time of year having fallen so far.
Similarly dry conditions were only reported in 2009.
Last month, the level of the Sea of Galilee, Israel’s main fresh water repository, rose by only two centimeters (less than 0.8 of an inch), and the measured flow of the Jordan River was the lowest since 1960.
No significant tides were recorded in Israel’s rivers during January for the first time in years, reflecting the extreme dryness.
Israel has a winter rainy season that usually extends from October to March.
The only exception this year was a single heavy downpour in the Carmel area of northern Israel, south of Haifa, where precipitation was higher than average, with the town of Zichron Yaakov recording 101 percent of the yearly average for October 25 to February 2 and Hadera, just to the south, registering 107%.
On Wednesday and Thursday, rains are expected to add an average 50 millimeters (two inches) to the overall total, but this will not change the broader picture, the Water Authority said in a statement.
Illustrative: A view of the northern Israel city of Zichron Yaakov, January 28, 2016. (Lior Mizrahi/Flash90)
Data from the Israel Meteorological Service (in Hebrew) shows that most rain fell in parts of northern Israel, for example at Ramat David (79% of the yearly average), Haifa (75%), Nahariya (72%), and Rosh Hanikra on the Lebanese border (70%).
Jerusalem, by contrast, only recorded 32% of the yearly average, and measuring stations in the western Negev in southern Israel, where most of Israel’s vegetables are grown, registering between a third and a fifth of the yearly average.
The Water Authority’s director Yehezkel Lifshitz said, “We are experiencing one of the driest precipitation seasons recorded in Israel in the last 100 years. However, the Water Authority’s proper preparation, which includes strategic planning and intelligent management of water sources, allows us to continue to provide water for all of the economy’s needs in a stable manner and ensures that the economy will not be affected by the dry winter in the immediate term.”
Israel relies largely on desalination for its water. Five plants are in operation. A sixth, Sorek B, near the Palmachim air base in the south-central region, will come online in the coming months. Construction has begun on a plant in the Western Galilee, and planners are starting work on an eighth facility in Emek Hefer in central Israel’s Sharon region.
This winter stands in stark contrast to the last, when February 2024 saw 14 straight days of rainfall in the north and south of the country for the first time since February 1992, according to statistics from the Israel Meteorological Service. The service called that kind of precipitation a “rain of blessing” because a steady, persistent downpour allows rainwater to seep into the ground, enriching natural water sources without the damaging side effects of flooding.
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