Open fires have been forbidden in many parts of Switzerland for fear of starting forest blazes.
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July has been declared one of the ten hottest in Switzerland since records began in 1864 as the heatwave continues. Temperatures this month have also been 1.9 degrees Celsius hotter than the average July, as recorded between 1981 and 2010.
Switzerland has already seen this year the second-warmest April, the fifth-warmest May and the fourth-warmest June.
Canton Valais in western Switzerland and the southern side of the Alps have now seen the hottest July since records began, according to MeteoSwiss, the Swiss meteorological office. In the city of Sion, canton Valais, temperatures have been 3.3C hotter than normal.
Switzerland is also experiencing drought conditions. The period from the start of May to mid-July had already been declared as the driest since 1921. Now MeteoSwiss says the April-July period is the fourth-driest since 1864.
Ironically, violent thunderstorms in some regions have also seen brief spurts of record localised precipitation. The measuring centre at Magadino-Cadenazzo in the southern canton of Ticino saw a record 60mm in one hour on July 28, beating the 53.2mm from May 7, 2009.
But rainfall in general has been too sporadic and confined to small areas to make an impact.
The dry conditions have resulted in bans in almost all cantons on the use of fireworks in or near forests (only Fribourg, Geneva and Neuchâtel are currently allowing them). Ahead of Swiss National Day on August 1, many central cantons have imposed a total ban on fireworksoutdoors. They have also have forced a slowdown in the activity of the Mühleberg nuclear plant as it struggles to keep vital equipment cool.
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Swiss summer driest since 1921
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While the years 2003 and 2015 were also parched, the dry spell this year started earlier, stretching back into the Spring. There has not been so little rainfall between the start of April to the middle of July for nearly 100 years, reports Swiss public television SRF. Several cantons have banned open fires – a…
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MeteoSwiss has issued a heat warning for the Italian-speaking region of Ticino, as the country continues to suffer the effects of the heat.
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A ban to make a fire near forests in southern mountain regions of Switzerland has been extended due to the continuing dry spell.
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The traditional Zurich weather forecaster, an exploding stuffed snowman perched atop a blazing pyre, failed to set the traditional holiday crowds alight on Monday. The Böögg took a monotonous 20 minutes and 31 seconds for its head to explode – thus signaling a drab Swiss summer.
The Sechseläuten (or ‘Six Bells’) spring parade each year signals the burning of the Böögg – an effigy signifying the long winter months recently endured. Legend has it that the quicker the Böögg’s explosives-packed head takes to go off with a bang, the warmer and sunnier the summer will be.
Under drizzling grey skies on Monday, the process took a tediously long time. In fact, on only four occasions in the last decade has the Böögg taken longer to lose its head.
Last year’s result was altogether more satisfactory, both in terms of the speed at which the snowman exploded and the accuracy of its forecast. Last summer saw lots of sunshine and hot temperatures, just as the Böögg said it would, when its head detonated in under ten minutes.
This year, Zurich’s city trade guilds, resplendent as ever in traditional costumes and riding horses, were joined by guests from Basel and government minister Guy Parmelin and Ignazio Cassis.
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