Some parts of Israel are under temporary irrigation ban, Jerusalem Post reported. The four-month prohibition – which began on December 1 and will last through April 1 – has occurred annually since around 2001 and forbids all types of garden-watering, except in areas that fall between the southern tip of Israel and a borderline called the “minority rains line.”

This year’s irrigation ban comes at a time when both Dead Sea and Kinneret water levels are incredibly low. As of December 1, the Dead Sea’s water level was measured at 425.36 meters below sea level, a drop in 17 centimeters, a drastic one for the month – following drops of 11 and 10 centimeters in October and September, respectively.

The last seven years of drought left Israel’s main sources of water with a loss of 1.5 billion cubic meters of water, needing a lot of rain and to continue conserving, the report said.