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This March in Switzerland was second warmest on record

Switzerland has experienced its second warmest March since records began in 1864, with an average temperature across the country of 3.9 degrees, according to the Swiss meteorological office.

Published: 31 March 2017 09:08 CEST
This March in Switzerland was second warmest on record
File photo: Roban Kramer
Only March 1994 surpassed that figure, with an average of 4.3 degrees, said MeteoSuisse. 
 
In the last few decades the ‘norm’ for this time of year has increased by one degree, said the weather office, from -0.3C during the 1960s and 70s to 0.7C in the period 1981-2010.
 
That means the average temperature across Switzerland this March surpassed the current norm by more than three degrees. 
 
And in some places it was the warmest March ever, notably in watchmaking town La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Jura, which surpassed the norm by 4.2 degrees.
 
The temperatures were boosted by a strong foehn wind at several points during the month which on March 20th helped temperatures in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino to 25.2 degrees, giving the region its first ‘summer’ day.
 
Lately, anticyclone conditions have brought warm and sunny weather with temperatures on the Swiss lowlands reaching 20 degrees. 
 
The warm weather has provoked the early flowering of many plants, said the weather office, with some blooming around a fortnight earlier than the norm.
 
The mild temperatures are expected to continue into next week. 
 
Source: MeteoSuisse

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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.

Published: 8 April 2024 14:15 CEST
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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