Tel Aviv prepares for the heatwaves of summer 2023

The Israeli summer is known for its strong sunshine, which sometimes makes life unbearable. In recent years, however, the feeling of summer inside Tel Aviv has become intolerable. There are several reasons.

First, there are global warming trends. Monitoring average temperatures over the past 150 years shows that it is gradually getting hotter here. Second, the city has become a mass of concrete and asphalt, which also contributes to the sensation of heat. Just try walking barefoot on road asphalt under the blazing sun and you will immediately understand what we mean.

High temperatures are not merely uncomfortable. They pose a major threat to our health, particularly harming vulnerable populations. Fortunately, this year Tel Aviv Municipality has begun taking the issue more seriously and adopting active measures to ease heat stress during the coming summer.

Shade in public spaces

For several years, Tel Aviv Municipality has made a point of planning every public space with shading solutions that combine natural and artificial shade. But many places in the public realm remain unshaded. This year, the municipality decided to address them too.

Tel Aviv Municipality has begun placing shading solutions in many locations around the city, and you can already see them. It chose temporary measures that are sometimes not particularly attractive but will offer a quick solution for the coming summer.

Locations where shading will be installed, with some installations already in place, include Tel Aviv's beaches, Magen David Square, Midron Park, Rabin Square, the Cinematheque plaza, Yad LaBanim Boulevard and other places around the city.

Planting trees in public spaces

Trees can also provide shade and ease heat stress, as well as helping reduce greenhouse gases. The municipality is addressing this too through its announced "Urban Forest" project. The project is already underway and will see another 100,000 trees planted around the city by the end of the decade.

These trees will join the 300,000 already within the city, about half in public spaces and half on private land.

Tel Aviv Municipality is investing heavily in this initiative. It involves various activities, including surveying all existing trees in Tel Aviv, as well as developing an app to help residents survey trees on private land too.

Although this is a long-term project, you may already be seeing the change. The municipality plants about thirty new trees every day, so by the end of 2023 we will be able to count around 1,000 new trees in Tel Aviv.

The shading and tree-planting projects are indeed good news. But remember that we too must behave responsibly and protect ourselves during the coming summer. Drink plenty of water, and it is well worth always putting a water bottle in your bag. That way you will have cool water available, save quite a bit of money and help reduce the number of plastic bottles. And, of course, use sunscreen to prevent sun damage.