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For
SkyWatch Friday here are some non-rain clouds above the Sea of Galilee, the lowest fresh water lake on earth.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53YVSUfkUH9EM5TMBkPxTrcqAwjtnb0sNhqLNzeSJySKgXowFvMgYd9mxs3iBNbsCuaIXXU6ARkyrXx3z7gvRPN7YBifAs0xgfmDMWrke00MqzQS0P93DFo0-3eJXN6tAexR5leyamAQ/s400/IMG_0370.JPG)
This 5 meter high stainless steel visual display at the seashore promenade measures the level of Israel's national lake by means of advanced digital technology.
In Hebrew the lake is called the Kinneret, from the work
kinor, which meant harp or lyre. You can see that shape in the cut-out.
The openings of the top and bottom represent the Jordan River.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNRaJCYREQIxpY_S6Cs01iinnxncVtlyrdww1t2yxtJzWQrUNEkQN6RPuhoU9ORzc6NwvhTf74yyDvURSsj0ViZLnpOSw8azMogiBnQyDgrxInTglvsYFlRL_Kt9cXbRYRRFPqlrXhD4/s400/IMG_0065.JPG)
The lake has been shrinking for the last five years due to drought.
This little harbor used to be full of water.
The digital figures in the fancy display did not show up well in the photo, but I can tell you the lake is 214.29 meters below sea level (roughly minus 703 feet) at its surface. That is 5.4 meters or about 18 feet short of being full (or "below the upper red line" as we say).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilr3MbSv33xTgLtIz87t8goSLSM1pzydlPKXThIO8w0hAo2M0vaEu87TjTYjnEQ5fqi5w0j6L8TL6fgpScHHPAymPZqJBF_OtxKFYXkCfXabpIYP3YwBuHfD0UaWvNDIqJbzOHg__9b-s/s400/IMG_0068.JPG)
Now the boats in the former cove are rotting on dry land.
We Israelis are quite obsessive about following the level of our beloved Kinneret. Twitter even has
KinBot, a Kinneret bot.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixUGU1A6veQG22caOD5yyD_iBauIMruryTNZxhQUCuPUUSBuVe535OwU0pQIFVMTJCLdqB4mNYyDwuGJEyFpzZP-LiLFCOYHqOnYQBiImMo0O31Iev94OnLx96OH0LYkLXGEtsANkvKvc/s400/IMG_0380.JPG)
If the level drops about one more meter, we will have to stop taking water from the lake . . .
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbS1hp2QIjp2BwOvOpcZvseieNGtZpBlVQ236a7T-3MBgSFvttL4dVdpKiZLRiYfELGFlAqyfGgXcRSkTb8lrBuIWdz4UKf2AzykghT15ChNBjekESPyJIc_EWd1499Ugs_Q1EqWPS6m4/s400/IMG_0381.JPG)
and start importing water from Turkey and quickly build more desalination plants.
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Let's pray for a rainy winter that will save the Sea of Galilee.
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