RAMALLAH, March 29 (JMCC) - With annual rainfall lagging behind regional norms for the seventh consecutive year, Israeli officials are warning of drought this summer.
Israel received 70 percent of the average annual rainfall, officials
told the Jerusalem Post. With consumption higher than precipitation in Israel even when no drought is in effect, they warn that consumers must continue to conserve water.
“We must conserve water, we must save water as a way of life, very seriously for this year and the next year,” said Water Authority spokesman Uri Schor on Monday. “Otherwise we will have a problem.”
Recent heavy rains have brought the water level at Lake Tiberias above warning levels, but the level is expected to drop again in dry summer months.
Those hardest hit by drought are Palestinian herder communities, who are forced to travel long distances to access water and pay high prices for animal feed.