Tel Aviv experienced the hottest April day in 85 years on Thursday as 40.8 degrees Celsius was measured in Israel's second biggest city in the middle of the day, the Israeli weather service said.
The average temperature in Tel Aviv in April between 1981 and 2000 was between 14.4 and 22.8 degrees.
The head of the weather service, Amir Givati, told the Haaretz newspaper that heatwaves like this year's are part of global warming.
"They are expected to get worse in the coming years," he said.
According to paramedics, several people in Israel had to be treated for heatstroke.