Climatic Features And Therapies Of The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is a salt lake between Israel (and the West Bank) to the west, and Jordan to the east. It is 420 meters (1,378 ft) below sea level, and its shores are the lowest point on the surface of the Earth on dry land. The Dead Sea is 330 m (1,083 ft) deep, the deepest hyper saline lake in the world. It is also the world's second saltiest body of water, after Lake Asal in Djibouti, with 30 percent salinity. It is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean.

The Dead Sea's climate offers year-round sunny skies and dry air with low pollution. It has less than 100 millimeters (3.94 in) mean annual rainfall and a summer average temperature between 32 and 39 °C (90-102°F). Winter average temperatures range between 20 and 23 °C (68-74°F). The region has weakened ultraviolet radiation, particularly the UVB (erythrogenic rays), and an atmosphere characterized by high oxygen content due to the high barometric pressure. The shore is the lowest dry place in the world. Proximity to the sea affects temperatures nearby because of the moderating effect a large body of water has on climate. During the winter months, sea temperatures tend to be higher than land temperatures, and vice versa during the summer months. This is the outcome of slow penetration of the sun's rays into the sea, which is a huge mass that takes a long time to warm up.

The region's climate and the unique conditions created by its low elevation have made it a popular center for several types of therapies:

• Climatotherapy: Climatotherapy is a treatment which exploits local climatic features such as temperature, humidity, sunshine, barometric pressure and special atmospheric constituents.
• Heliotherapy: Treatment that exploits the biological effects of the sun's radiation.
• Thalassotherapy: Treatment that exploits bathing in Dead Sea water.