Driest winter in 100 years prompts Kinneret island’s reemergence

After disappearing beneath the rising waters of the Sea of Galilee five years ago, the small island opposite Kibbutz Ma’agan is set to reemerge, Hebrew media reported on Thursday—a stark symbol of Israel’s worsening drought.

According to meteorological records, this past winter was the driest in nearly a century, triggering alarm across the country’s agricultural and environmental sectors, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported.

“We noticed the waves breaking over the island again,” said Asaf Griewald, a nature photographer from Kibbutz Ma’agan, in an interview with the outlet. “The water level has dropped so much that you can now stand on it.”

Currently submerged under about 60 centimeters of water, the island is expected to resurface fully within two months. While its reappearance may seem like a natural curiosity, it underscores a far deeper crisis: the severe decline in rainfall and water reserves across the Galilee and Golan Heights.

Unlike Israel’s urban centers, which rely on desalinated water, agriculture in the country’s north is dependent on rainfall, springs and local reservoirs—many of which are now at unprecedented lows.

In response, Israel’s Water Authority has authorized increased pumping from the Jordan River to sustain farmland. But this emergency measure is already having ecological consequences, affecting local wildlife and fragile natural habitats.

“This situation hasn’t been seen in nearly 100 years,” said Idan Barnea of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. “In normal years, water flows over the region’s dams. Now they’re dry. Israel must act quickly—build agricultural reservoirs in the Hula Valley and connect the region to the national water system.”

Thanks to Israel’s extensive desalination infrastructure, there’s no immediate risk of a drinking water shortage. Still, farmers are bearing the brunt. Many have already slashed their summer crop output by several dozen percent. Vast yellow patches now dot the Hula Valley—evidence of intentional field drying due to water scarcity.

“This is hitting us just as we’re recovering from the war,” said Nitzan Dahan, head of a northern water cooperative, according to Channel 12. “We’ve made internal plans to dry certain areas, but we haven’t yet received any state guarantees for compensation. Without government support, it will be difficult to survive the summer.”

Meanwhile, household water use has risen by 8% in recent months, according to Mekorot, Israel’s national water company.

As temperatures climb and rainfall remains elusive, the country faces a deepening drought that is likely to impact every sector through the scorching summer ahead.