Israel is again being hit by exceptional fall weather as dust storms have pushed air pollution levels to up to 15-20 times the norm, creating respiratory and visibility problems. Health warnings have been issued and the Ministry of Environmental Protection said that the worst hit part of the country is the Eastern Negev and that the situation was also particularly severe in Jerusalem and the Etzion Bloc and the Greater Tel Aviv region.
The source of the dust storm is a 60 kilometer per hour southeast wind blowing in from Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which began yesterday afternoon. The storm will persist throughout the day and is likely to linger through Thursday with intermittent increases and reductions in strength and air pollution levels.
Arkia airlines announced that all flights from Sde Dov airport, at least until 2pm Wednesday afternoon, would be switched to Ben Gurion Airport.
The dust storms have also been accompanies by occasional local rainstorms throughout Israel with flashflood warnings for low lying areas and dry river beds in the east and south. Some of the rain may be very heavy accompanied by thunderstorms.
Aware of its shortcomings in last week's heavy rainstorms when tens of thousands of Israeli households were left without power for long periods, the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) has taken special precautions to prepare for the situation. The IEC said, "The combination of dust and rain has the potential to disrupt electricity supply and the company has readied itself accordingly."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 4, 2015
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