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November one of warmest on record despite early snow

Swiss ski resorts may have opened particularly early this year, but the past month was one of the mildest Novembers since records began in the 19th century, according to meteorologists.

November one of warmest on record despite early snow
File photo: Renate Dodell

Over the month, temperatures were 0.5 to 0.7 of a degree warmer than the average, said MeteoSuisse in a statement.

In some places, such as Altdorf in the canton of Uri and Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland, temperatures were 2.5 degrees higher than normal, making it one of the warmest Novembers on record.

That was mainly due to the warm foehn wind that dominated the weather in the second half of the month, said MeteoSuisse.

However it was a month of two halves, with a cold front bringing snow to the country’s alpine resorts in the first fortnight of November.

In Crans-Montana in the Valais, 51cms of snow fell in 24 hours, said MeteoSuisse.

“Towards mid-November the mountains were covered with a thick coating of snow. But a few days later temperatures in the valleys of the northern Alps climbed over 20 degrees with a persistent foehn,” it said.

The foehn ended on November 25th, and was followed by a strong bise wind and lower temperatures.

Several of Switzerland’s ski resorts opened limited slopes in mid-November, including Verbier, Laax and Crans-Montana.

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WEATHER

IN PICTURES: ‘Exceptional’ Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

An "exceptional" dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent's climate monitor said on Monday, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime.

IN PICTURES: 'Exceptional' Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said the latest plume, the third of its kind in recent weeks, was bringing hazy conditions to southern Europe and would sweep northward as far as Scandinavia.

Mark Parrington, senior scientist at Copernicus, said the latest event was related to a weather pattern that has brought warmer weather to parts of Europe in recent days.

“While it is not unusual for Saharan dust plumes to reach Europe, there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of such episodes in recent years, which could be potentially attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns,” he said.

This latest episode has caused air quality to deteriorate in several countries, Copernicus said.

The European Union’s safe threshold for concentrations of PM10 — coarser particles like sand and dust that that can irritate the nose and throat — has already been exceeded in some locations.

A picture taken on April 8, 2024 shows a rapeseed field under thick sand dust blown in from the Sahara, giving the sky a yellowish appearance near Daillens, western Switzerland. – An “exceptional” dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent’s climate monitor said, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The worst affected was the Iberian Peninsula in Spain but lesser air pollution spikes were also recorded in parts of Switzerland, France and Germany.

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Local authorities in southeastern and southern France announced that the air pollution threshold was breached on Saturday.

They advised residents to avoid intense physical activity, particularly those with heart or respiratory problems.

The dust outbreak was expected to reach Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia before ending on Tuesday with a shift in weather patterns, Copernicus said.

The Sahara emits between 60 and 200 million tonnes of fine dust every year, which can travel thousands of kilometres (miles), carried by winds and certain meteorological conditions.

The Spanish Canary Islands off the coast of northwest Africa saw just 12 days within a 90-day period from December to February where skies were free of Saharan dust, the local weather agency Aemet had reported.

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