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WEATHER

Swiss taste of Indian summer forecast

After snow closed mountain passes amid subzero temperatures last week, Switzerland is now preparing to return to sun tanning and dining on restaurant terraces as forecasters call for sunshine and temperatures up to 25 degrees this weekend.

Swiss taste of Indian summer forecast
Photo: Lykaestra

A Föhn wind is forecast to blow through the valleys north of the Alps in the next few days, MeteoNews, said on Thursday, predicting highs from 20 to 25 in many regions.

Mild air coming from the southwest is set to settle over the country for a few days, bringing a taste of Indian summer to some regions of the country.

After freezing levels fell to as low as 700 metres a week ago, they are expected to climb to between 3,500 and 3,700 metres in the mountains on Saturday.

Not all areas of Switzerland will benefit from clear skies, with fog and stratus cloud expected in the plains.

And MeteoSwiss, the national weather office, is a little less optimistic about those high temperatures, calling for maximums between 19 and 21 degrees.

Rain is expected across the country on Sunday, although mild conditions will resume early next week.

The generally improved weather comes as welcome relief for many wine growers who are still bringing in the grape harvest in cantons such as Geneva, Vaud and Valais.

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SKIING

Two skiers killed in Swiss avalanche

Two cross-country skiers have been killed in an avalanche near the plush resort of Klosters in southeast Switzerland, police said Saturday.

Two skiers killed in Swiss avalanche

The accident happened on Friday, the Graubunden regional police said.

“In the Schintersiten area they took a slope with a steep gradient,” a police statement said.

“Several avalanches broke out and dragged the two men about 200 metres down the rocky terrain.

“As a result, both the 54-year-old and his 57-year-old companion, both of whom lived in the canton of Bern, were fatally injured.”

The Graubunden public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation alongside the cantonal police.

Before Friday’s accident, 12 people had lost their lives in avalanches in Switzerland since October 1 last year, according to statistics from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research.

A total of 142 avalanche-related accidents have occurred, with 188 people swept away.

Earlier this month, six cross-country skiers went missing in a storm near the southern luxury resort of Zermatt. The group, aged 21 to 58, included five members of the same family.

Five bodies were recovered and the search for the sixth person was ultimately called off.

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