The Israel Water Authority and Mekorot have announced that they have halted cloud seeding due to the high level of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). Since the 1950s Israel has been sending aircraft into the clouds in northern Israel to inject silver iodide and thus increase precipitation. But the Israel Water Authority said that there was currently no justification for the expense of cloud seeding, which reportedly increases the amount of water dropped by clouds by about 1.8%, due to the heavy rainfalls of recent winters.
Despite a drier than average January, the level of the Kinneret rose by 27 centimeters during the month and is now at 209.65 meters below sea level, or 85 centimeters below its maximum level. In fact the level of the lake rose by 30 centimeters in the second half of January, after falling in the first half of the month following a rare winter dry spell.
With the ground now saturated, hopes have now been rekindled that for the first time since 1992 the dam at Deganya will have to be opened to prevent the lake from flooding its banks, allowing more water to flow south down the River Jordan to the Dead Sea. Heavy snow which has settled on Mount Hermon also bodes well for a strong spring flow of the streams feeding the Kinneret.
The Kinneret began the winter at its highest level for years, after well above average rainfall over the past two winters and at one point in late April 2020 the lake came within just 12 centimeters of being full. The fact that last winter the Kinneret did not reach its current level of 85 centimeters from the maximum level until early March, also promises that the lake should reach its maximum level this year.
The forecast is for dry weather over the next few days with the rain returning on Thursday.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 1, 2021
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