Dust storm hits Israel ahead of heavy rain, thunder
Poor air quality felt in Negev, Jerusalem, coastal plain and Dan region due to dust blown in from the Sinai Peninsula; haze expected to give way to downpours, with flood warnings issued in multiple areas
Danny Rup, Ilana Curiel |
Published: 12.15.20 , 15:58 The Environmental Protection Ministry on Tuesday issued a warning of high to very high air pollution across many parts of Israel due to a dust storm from the Sinai Peninsula.
The poor air quality was being felt in the Negev, the Arava, inner lowlands, Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Jordan Valley, the southern coastal plain and the Dan region.
Sandstorm hits Israel ahead heavy rain, storms
Danny Rup |
Published: 12.15.20 , 15:45
The Environmental Protection Ministry on Tuesday issued a warning of high to very high air pollution across many parts of Israel due to sand storms from the Sinai Peninsula.
The poor air quality was felt in the Negev, the Arava, inner lowlands, Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Jordan Valley, the southern coastal plain and the Dan region.
The air quality was expected to improve by nightfall, with the arrival of heavy rain in the north and center of the country and a gradual reduction in the sand haze in the south.
Decay inside the FSO Safer, moored off Ras Issa port, Yemen, in 2019. (I.R. Consilium via AP)
Prof. Maoz Fine, one of the report’s Israeli authors, told The Times of Israel that the article was submitted before the Houthis relented a fortnight ago.
“They’ve given permission, which they’ve given and withdrawn in the past. We need to see that things actually happen now and that the oil is removed and the tanker is dragged to the shore to be dismantled,” he said.
It’s unclear how long the tanker has until disaster strikes, but signs point to time rapidly running out.
Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel. (Courtesy, Environmental Protection Ministry)
Gamliel told the financial sector that it “must be an integral part of the environmental revolution in Israel, and allow investors to choose wisely how to act according to their worldview and invest in corporations and financial instruments that incorporate environmental considerations.”
The Israeli finance sector’s adoption of ESG environmental, social, and corporate governance lags way behind much of the developed world, Anat Guetta, chairwoman of the Israel Securities Authority, told the conference.
“It’s not yet part of the DNA of investment in Israel,” she said, although her department was “totally there.”
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel s environment reporter.
In this Aug. 6, 2011 file photo, thousands of Israelis march during a protest against the rising cost of living in Israel, in central Tel Aviv (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)
Moves toward a low-carbon economy must heavily involve the population and include a raft of measures to ensure that vulnerable communities are not affected disproportionately, particularly in the short term, according to a report presented to a conference on Monday.
This need was made clear with the violent Yellow Vest protests that swept France in 2018 after President Emmanuel Macron tried to increase fuel taxes, the document, unveiled at the the Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economics and Society on Monday, said.