Lakes are drying up everywhere. Israel will pump water from the Med as a solution

But this place of religious pilgrimage — where the New Testament says many of Jesus’ miracles were performed — is facing a bleak future. The climate crisis is causing huge fluctuations in the lake’s water levels. Now it happens to be fairly full, but just five years ago, it hit a record low. Climate change and unsustainable water management are leaving lakes dried up all over the Middle East and beyond, but the Israeli government is hopeful it has a solution: It plans to pump water from the Mediterranean sea, take the salt out of it and send it across the country to top up the lake when needed.”When you mix desalinated water with natural water, you see an impact on the biology in the experiments,” Gal said. “We’ll be bringing things to the lake that may not exist naturally.”But so far, Gal says their experiments show the new water won’t cause a huge impact on existing species. In fact, it may even help the lake combat the effects of climate change by causing a higher rate of water turnover, which helps prevent too much bacterial growth, and could help cool the water’s temperatures. Even with the potential benefits, Gal said he wished the lake didn’t need any human intervention.”But given what we think we know about climate change, and what’s going to happen in the lake,” Gal said. “The risk of introducing desalinated water is a risk that is worthwhile taking.”