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WEATHER

Heatwave forces Geneva to close public libraries

The ongoing heatwave in the city of Geneva has forced authorities to close seven municipal libraries on Tuesday because they lack air conditioning.

Published: 7 July 2015 08:01 CEST
Heatwave forces Geneva to close public libraries
The Saint-Jean municipal library in Geneva already closed its children's section late last week because of the heat. Photo: Geneva municipal libraries/Facebook

Libraries are the sort of place that members of the public seek out when the weather is hot.

But in Geneva, the lack of cooling systems in the municipal libraries has made them among the most uncomfortable places to be.

On Monday, the branches were closed to the public as usual, but some of them registered temperatures of between 32C and 35C inside.

MeteoSwiss, the national weather office, forecast highs of 37C for Geneva on Tuesday.

Given the intensity of the heat, library management decided to close the doors to the public.

“We are obliged to take this decision because we have not been able to put in place the prevention measures foreseen within the context of the 2015 heatwave plan,” Véronique Pürro, municipal library director told the Tribune de Genève newspaper.

“We cannot open the windows at night for security reasons,” Pürro said.

“So we can’t lower the temperature.”

The closure is aimed at protecting staff as well as members of the public.

Library branches in the Eaux-Vives, La Jonction, Saint-Jean, Servette, Pâquis, Minoteries and La Cité neighbourhoods will be shuttered for the day.

The Geneva museum of art and history was also forced to close its doors on the weekend because of the boiling temperatures.

The temperature in certain rooms in the museum, which dates from 1910 and is badly in need of renovation, rose on Friday to as much as 34 degrees, the Tribune reported.

Residents of most parts of Switzerland will have to wait until Wednesday for relief from the heat in the form of forecast cooler weather and rain showers.

MeteoSwiss predicted Basel will be the hottest place in Switzerland on Tuesday with an expected high of 38 degrees, while top temperatures of 37C are expected in Sion and 36C in Zurich.

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WEATHER

Will Switzerland be visited by ‘Ice Saints’ this year?

Ascension is not the only annual happening in the country in May, as Switzerland also ‘celebrates’ another 'chilling' event this month.

Published: 8 May 2024 14:20 CEST
Will Switzerland be visited by 'Ice Saints' this year?

From May 11th to the 15th, a meteorological event takes place each year in Switzerland.

It “observes”, though admittedly not on scientific basis, a centuries-old weather phenomenon called “Ice Saints”.

What exactly is it?

As its name suggests, it is related to saints, as well as ice and frost.

The saints in question are St Mamertus, St Pancras, St Servatius and St Boniface.

According to a weather lore, once these Ice Saints have passed through Switzerland in the middle of May, frost will no longer pose a threat to farmers and their land.

As the official government meteorological service MeteoSwiss explains it, “spring frosts have been a regular occurrence for centuries, giving rise to the traditional belief that a blast of cold air often arrives in the middle of May. Over time, this piece of weather lore became known as the Ice Saints.”

Fact versus myth

You may be wondering whether the Ice Saints lore actually has basis in reality.

Records, which date back to 1965 and originate from the Geneva-Cointrin, Payerne, and Zurich-Kloten weather stations, “clearly show that, over the long-term average, frost directly above the soil is only a regular occurrence up until the middle of April”, MeteoSwiss says. “After that, the frequency with which ground frost occurs progressively declines to almost zero by the end of May.”

“We can conclude, therefore, that there is no evidence in Switzerland to confirm the Ice Saints as a period in May when ground frost is more common.”

However, MeteoSwiss does concede that “ground frost is nevertheless a regular occurrence throughout May as a whole…having occurred at least once or twice in May every year, and in around 40 percent of the years there were more than two days in May with ground frost.”

What about this year?

MeteoSwiss weather forecast for the next seven days indicates that, this year too, no frost will be present on the ground in mid-May.

In fact, temperatures through much of Switzerland will be in double digits, reaching between 18C and 25C, depending on the region.

You can see what to expect in your area, here. 

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