Temperature in the Land

IThe temperature range in lands with seasonal rainfall is often very large. There are great contrasts - for example between a summer's day by the Dead Sea, with temperature reaching 40º C as a matter of course, and a wet winter's day a hundred miles away in Upper Galilee, where a freezing rain is falling. Winter weather on the uplands can be very unpleasent. There are 45-60 days of rain, and snow often falls in winter in Jerusalem. The daily changes can be trying in low-lying areas, too. Jericho has a January average temperature of 15º C. But this is made up of high daytime temperatures and freezing nights.

Temperatures in summer on the coast and in the uplands average a pleasant 22-25º C. They are affected generally by height above sea level and, from time to time, by the winds. In the daytime, in summer, cooling breezes blow in from the Mediterranean to make the heat less intense. But the effect of the hamsin is much less pleasant. This fiercely hot and dry wind blows from the south, out of Arabia, bringing a breath from the desert which can sometimes be felt even near the coast. It is well known to the people who live in Israel. 'When you feel the south wind blowing,' Jesus said, 'you say that it is going to get hot - and it does' (Luke 12:55).

The climate today does not seem to be very different from the time when Israel occupied the Promised Land, or when Jesus lived there. The landscape has certainly changed (see Vegetation of the Land) but this is not because of a change in climate.

Rainfall
Dew
Winter Rains
Temperature

Structures of the Land Climate of the Land Vegetation of the Land Resources of the Land Regions of the Land