Climate of Israel

The main characteristics of the complexity of the climate in IsraelIsrael are presented. Despite its very moderate size, IsraelIsrael presents a variability of climates which includes three main climatic regions; hot summer Mediterranean, hot semi-arid and hot arid climates. The wind regimeWind regime comprises Easterlies mainly in winter, whereas the summer is characterized by a sea breeze. Relative humidityRelative humidity tends to be higher in winter and lower in summer in all parts of IsraelIsrael except along the coastal plain due to the sea breeze which in turn affects the seasonality of forest fires. Air temperatureAir temperature regime displays a larger annual range than diurnal range which is characteristic of high latitudes. Finally, the rainfall regimeRainfall regime across the country presents a very steep rainfall gradient from the mountain ridge in the west to the Jordan Rift Valley in the east. All parts of the country experience both temporal (year to year) and spatial uncertainty which increases southeastwards.