November 2010 was the driest November in 48 years. The Water Authority has updated its forecast for the 2010-11 winter rainy season, and states that it will be even drier than predicted, well beyond the already severe drought that was predicted.
The Water Authority today reported that the water flow into the Kinneret is the lowest for the month of November since measurements began in 1927. The Kinneret's water level on November 25 was 214.03 meters below sea level, a shortfall of 5.25 meters, amounting to 850 million billion liters of water. The Kinneret is now just 77 centimeters above the Black Line - the level of irreversible damage, after falling 1.39 meters over the summer. The water level is falling by half a centimeter a day.
Data analysis has led the Water Authority to conclude that November rainfall is the lowest since 1962. It is deeply worried that the drought will persist deep into December.
"The persistent drought will worsen the condition of the Kinneret. It will lower the groundwater levels and greatly reduce water production of wells, some of which are already below their red lines," said the Water Authority today.
For months Water Authority director general Uri Shani has been warning about the drought that has affected Israel for many years. The has been a drought for the past six years, and the latest analysis of forecasts raises worries that this winter will be especially dry, resulting in a seven-year drought. If that is the case, it will be the longest drought that Israel has experienced since independence.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 25, 2010
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