The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) has ended January 2026 still below the bottom red line despite heavier-than-average annual rainfall so far this fall/winter, the Kinneret Authority reported on Sunday.
The lake is currently 4.43 meters from its maximum level of 208.80 meters below sea level, according to the Kinneret Authority, and 23 centimeters below the bottom red line, beyond which water is not pumped out.
The Kinneret is only 1.65 meters above the black line, below which irreversible ecological damage would occur. Despite heavy rainfall last month, the Kinneret rose by only 15 centimeters in January.
Much of the heaviest rain has been in the center and south of the country rather than the north, and last year's dry winter, the Kinneret Authority says, means that much of the rain pouring down the streams into the Kinneret is soaked into the still dry river bed.
At the end of 2024, the Kinneret was 2.415 meters from its maximum level. The situation worsened after 2024/25 was one of the driest rainy seasons on record.
However, the Kinneret is in no actual danger. In 2023, Mekorot Israel National Water Co. and the Israel Water Authority launched the "Reverse Water Carrier" project in the north.
Project allows desalinated Mediterranean water to flow inland to the Kinneret
The project will allow desalinated water from the Mediterranean Sea to flow inland to the Kinneret, helping maintain the lake level during dry or low-rainfall years.
Moreover, Israel no longer needs the Kinneret for its water, which is supplied by six desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast.
So far this winter, Safed has received 349 millimeters of rain, according to the Meteo-Tech Meteorological Services, which is 52% of its average annual rainfall. Haifa has received 488 millimeters of rain, 90% of its average annual rainfall.
Tel Aviv has received 314 millimeters of rain, 56% of its average annual rainfall; Jerusalem, 502 millimeters of rain, 87% of its average annual rainfall; and Beer Sheva, 211 millimeters of rain, 110% of its annual average rainfall.
More rain is forecast throughout the country for Monday night and Tuesday, but after that, the first half of February is expected to be dry and unseasonably warm.
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