Friday September 4th… Dear Diary. The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track United States extreme or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Main Topic: Holy City Of Jerusalem Sees Hottest Day Ever Recorded + Surrounding Middle Eastern And Asia Heatwave Notes
Dear Diary. Western Heatwave Chort isn’t the only game in town as far as deadly climate change heat episodes go this week. In the Eastern Hemisphere I’m seeing several reports of all-time record heat both in the Middle East and Far East. The one report that intrigues me the most comes from Jerusalem, which is exceptionally famous because it is known to be “The Holy City” from all three main monotheistic religions. Jerusalem and most of the Middle East is quite arid, so I was surprised to learn that its all-time record has not been breached that often…until now.
Here is more from The Times of Israel:
Jerusalem bakes in hottest day since record-keeping began in 1942
High of 42º C (107º F) notched in capital Thursday afternoon, marking highest-ever known temperature; Friday may be hotter
By TOI STAFF Today, 3:36 am
- prays at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, September 3, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussil/Flash90)
People enjoy a hot summer day at the Ein Lavan Spring in the Jerusalem Mountains, August 30, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Illustrative: Israeli children enjoy the splash fountain at Teddy Park in Jerusalem (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
An oppressive heat wave that settled over Israel Thursday saw Jerusalem sweating under its hottest-ever temperatures, melting the capital at a sweltering 42º C (107º F).
The temperature was recorded at Jerusalem’s central weather station at 2:50 p.m., according to the Israel Meteorological Service, smashing the previous record of 41º C (105.8º F) set on August 20, 2010.
Jerusalem’s temperatures were still fairly breezy compared to 47º C (116.6º F) and 45º C (113º F) recorded in the upper Galilee and Jordan Valley respectively.
Still the heat wave is unprecedented for the capital, which usually enjoys slightly cooler weather than the rest of the country thanks to its location and relatively high altitude at some 800 meters (2,600 feet) above sea level.
Aside from 2010, the only other time since record-keeping began in 1942 that temperatures in Jerusalem reached above 39º C (102.2º F) was on Sunday, when a temperature of 39.6º C (103.3 F) was notched.
There may be more record-breaking temperatures on the way. The mercury in Jerusalem is predicted to reach 42º C or slightly higher on Friday afternoon, before dropping to a brisk 39º C on Saturday, according to the Yerushamayim weather forecasting website.
Much of the rest of the country will also continue to swelter under the heat wave, which is expected to taper off slightly next week before returning with a vengeance on Thursday, when temperatures will again reach the uppers 30s Celsius in Jerusalem, and higher elsewhere.
READ MORE:
A quick check of the heat dome over the Middle East on Wednesday reveals a better than 594 decameter ridge centered near Cyprus:
I’m a little surprised that the heat dome was not stronger, getting close to 600 decameters as is the case with western Heawave Chort.
Here are more reports from the best expert on worldwide extreme record temperature reports, Maximiliano Hererra:
The following panel is quite interesting because it reveals that heat building up in Japan earlier this week ahead of typhoons was along the same jet stream ridge trough ridge configuration in which we see the beginnings of Heatwave Chort:
Speaking of Chort, here is more news from that system:
Here are some more of the most recent “ET” reports:
Here is more climate and weather news from Friday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)
Now here are some of today’s articles and notes on the horrid COVID-19 pandemic:
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Guy Walton “The Climate Guy”