The Environmental Protection Ministry on Monday reported extremely high pollution levels in Jerusalem, parts of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley and warned the public to take precautions, amid a major heatwave that has swept across Israel in recent days.
According to the ministry’s monitoring website, levels of PM10 air pollution in central Jerusalem were 7259.8µg/m³ as of 7 a.m. The US Environmental Protection Agency says that any level over 355µg/m³ is considered very unhealthy and levels over 425µg/m³ are considered hazardous.
The ministry said the elderly, pregnant women, children, and any other sensitive people should avoid strenuous outdoor activity, and that the general population should minimize strenuous outdoor activity.
It said the pollution was caused by atmospheric conditions in Jordan that caused strong winds that were bringing in dust from the east.
The pollution comes amid an extended extreme heatwave enveloping most of the country, with experts predicting that temperature records could be shattered later in the week.
Amos Porat, director of Climate Services at the Israel Meteorological Service (IMS), told The Times of Israel on Sunday that the eastern part of the country was expected to be hardest hit, from the Hula Valley and the Sea of Galilee in the northeast down to the Arava Desert in the south.
Temperatures in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee are expected to hit 49°C and 47°C respectively (120°F and 116.6°F) on Wednesday and Thursday. The record for the area is 45.9°C (114.6°F).
An ultra-Orthodox man uses his kippah as a mask to counter poor air quality in Jerusalem during a hazy summer day, August 11, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Jerusalem registered a record 44.4°C (111.9°F ) in 1881. On Wednesday and Thursday, residents are set to sweat in 41°C (105.8°F).
Coastal Tel Aviv-Jaffa, where the mercury hit 46.5°C (115.7 °F) in 1916, will reach a relatively comfortable maximum of 33°C (91.4 °F) on Wednesday and Friday.
At Israel’s southernmost point, Eilat, on the Red Sea, predictions are for 46°C (114.8°F) on Monday afternoon, 48°C (118.4°F) on Tuesday, and 49°C (120°F) on Thursday. The city’s record to date is 48.9°C (120 °F), set in September 2020.
Porat said it was difficult to pinpoint the reasons for the current heatwave. Heatwaves were common during the summer, he explained. “But the intensity, the length, the extreme temperatures [we are seeing], are quite possibly related to climate change.”
People enjoy at the beach in Tel Aviv, August 9, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Israel is a climate “hotspot,” where temperatures are rising faster than the global average.
Last month, the Israel Meteorological Service predicted that average temperatures inland and in the mountains could rise by 4.5-5°C by the end of the century, and by 3-3.5°C along the coast and in the lowlands.
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