Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Swiss rivers and lakes continue to dry up

The River Aare
Despite low water levels, people are still enjoying the River Aare in Bern Keystone

Recent thunderstorms have had no effect on low water levels across Switzerland. The prolonged drought means many rivers still have extremely little water. 

Although rainfall of up to 50 litres per square metre was recorded locally recently, especially in the mountains, this resulted in only short-term increases in run-off in the affected regions, the Federal Office for the Environment said on Monday. 

River levels are particularly low in the Central Plateau and the Jura in northwestern Switzerland. In the high alpine, glaciated catchment areas, the water outflows are either normal for the season or below average. 

Exceptionally low water levels are found on Lake Lucerne, Lake Zug, Lake Zurich, Lake Constance and the Walensee. Only Lake Thun, Lake Lugano and the lakes around the Jura have normal levels for this time of year.  

In addition, the persistent summer temperatures mean water temperatures of many rivers are still above average. 

The weather is set to remain mostly dry for the next few days. The water levels of most Swiss waters will continue to decline accordingly or remain at low levels, the environment office predicts. 

More
Cows by a water reservoir in the Alps

More

Drought-affected Alpine pastures get emergency help

This content was published on Switzerland is experiencing its lowest rainfall in nearly a century, the charity noted in a statement on Tuesday. Since the start of weather records in 1864, there have been only three periods between April and July with less rainfall.  Alpine farms are particularly affected by the heatwave as the soil dries up under the scorching…

Read more: Drought-affected Alpine pastures get emergency help

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR