SHARE
COPY LINK

WEATHER

Swiss permafrost warmer than ever before: report

Permafrost in Switzerland is warmer than ever due to persistent hot weather in the past few years, according to government-funded permafrost monitoring organization PERMOS.

Swiss permafrost warmer than ever before: report
Permafrost is monitored in 30 locations in Swizterland. Photo: PERMOS

According to a report published by PERMOS on Monday, 2015 in Switzerland was the hottest year on record.

This, coupled with persistent mild weather in Switzerland over the past few years, led to “exceptionally high” temperatures of Swiss permafrost during the 2014/15 monitoring period.

A permanently frozen part of the ground, permafrost covers around five percent of Switzerland, usually alpine regions above 2,500m, and depends largely on ground temperatures.

Since 2009 ground temperatures in the country have been above average, said the report.

Measurements taken from some 30 locations in Switzerland, including the Murtel-Corvatsch glacier and the Schilthorn, showed that permafrost temperatures reached a new high in 2015.

They also showed an increase of water in the permafrost, a sign of melting.

The elevated temperatures of exposed rockfaces led to an increased number of rockfalls in July and August 2015, said the report.

Hot weather has also affected the speed of glacial movement, which increased by an average of 20 percent compared with the previous year.

Many glaciers can move several metres a year, it added.

The news comes after Switzerland experienced spring-like conditions on Sunday, with a mini heatwave and clear skies leading record numbers to the ski slopes.

MeteoSuisse recorded temperatures of 17.4C in Geneva and 16C in Basel. Even the ski resort of Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais reached 10C.

The good weather and the end of the February school holidays brought record numbers to resorts including Leysin and Verbier, said news agency ATS.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

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.

SHOW COMMENTS