The worst heat wave to hit the Middle East in more than a decade has claimed its second victim in Israel, an 18-year-old teen.
The young man was in the Jerusalem area when he was evacuated to a local hospital with symptoms of heat stroke. He was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
The death followed by less than a day the general systems collapse of a one-year-old baby who was rushed to Ziv Medical Center in Tzfat Monday night. The baby arrived at the hospital with symptoms of dehydration and a fever of 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 degrees Farenheit.) Medical personnel attempted to save the baby’s life, but to no avail.
The extreme weather in Israel is expected to cool down slightly be Thursday or Friday.
But as the weekend progresses, meteorologists are reporting there may be “scorching conditions.” The public is being warned to exercise caution in order not to endanger lives.
The recent “heat dome,” as it is being called, is a type of high pressure ridge that is passing over the region. It has surprised some meteorologists in its intensity and has really tested Israel’s electricity grid, which so far is holding out.
Elsewhere in the region, record temperatures have stunned area weather mavens: temperatures as high as 50 C (122 Farenheit) almost broke thermometers in Iraq.
But in the city of Bandar Mahshahr, Iran, home to 100,000 people, it’s been even hotter, as hot as 56 C (134 F), with a heat index that made the weather actually feel like 164 F on Friday.