Late frost in Switzerland poses increased risk to crops
The risk of late frost damage to fruit crops and vineyards is increasing. As a result of climate change, winters are becoming milder and the growing season is being lengthened, says weather service Meteonews.
This past winter was one of the mildest since measurements began, and the spring has also been particularly mild. This has had an effect on the arrival of seasons, which, as in previous years, has come two to four weeks ahead of schedule, says the private weather service Meteonews on its website on Sunday.
It adds that frost is to be expected on the ground over the next few days. Crops close to frost should therefore be protected. On the other hand, there should be no nights with a clearly negative temperature two metres above the ground, which is positive for fruit trees and vineyards. Frost damage should therefore remain limited.
More spring snow in the forecast
In the last 48 hours, up to half a metre of snow has fallen in certain areas, for example on the Rigi-Scheidegg mountain in central Switzerland, which boasts an altitude of 1,650 metres. The snow is expected to fall again on Sunday, reports Meteonews on the platform X. According to the weather service SRF Meteo, the snowfall limit is 500 metres, but there may also be flakes locally as far down as the plains.
According to the bulletin issued by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), the current weather situation means that there is a high avalanche risk in canton Valais in the south, in central Switzerland and in the south-east of the country. Spontaneous avalanches, but also large-scale avalanches, are possible. In some cases, roads may also be affected.
Translated from French by DeepL/gw
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Foreign affairs
European nations snub Swiss-made weapons over Ukraine restrictions
Switzerland will deliver rubble removal equipment to Ukraine
This content was published on
Thirty rubble removal machines and thirty fire-fighting pumps: this is the equipment that Switzerland will be delivering to the Ukraine in the next few days. The total value of these goods is 5.6 million Swiss francs.
A third of Swiss residents plan to change health insurers
This content was published on
After the announced sharp increase in premiums for 2025, about one in three people would be considering changing health insurance companies.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.