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WEATHER

Swiss heatwave expected over holiday weekend

After a tentative start to summer, punctuated by cool spells and rain, Switzerland is bracing for its first heatwave this long Whitsun weekend.

Swiss heatwave expected over holiday weekend
MeteoSwiss weather map showing expected highs across the country on Monday.

Forecasters expect temperatures to surpass 30 degrees starting on Saturday, with hot weather continuing into the middle of next week.

MeteoSwiss, the national weather office, is predicting the mercury will rise as high as 34 degrees in some parts of Switzerland on Sunday.

Highs of 34 degrees are forecast in the cantons of Geneva and Valais on Whit Monday, and 33 degrees in Basel and Zurich.

Isolated thunderstorms could occur in mountain regions throughout the long weekend, MeteoSwiss said.

In the canton of Vaud, the health department has put in place a heatwave plan to deal with possible risks stemming from high temperatures.

Young children and elderly and frail people are particularly at risk when temperatures rise and they are advised to stay indoors.

In Switzerland a heatwave warning is generally only issued when temperatures of 33 degrees or more are expected for three consecutive days.

The Vaud health department warned that extreme heat can lead to fatalities.

In the event of unusually hot weather the department is counselling the public to rest, reduce physical activity, cool off regularly, eat lightly and drink water regularly.  

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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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