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Last Swiss winter was one of least snowy on record

As the ski season ends for another year, it will come as little surprise to many that the past winter in Switzerland has been described as one of the least snowy on record.

Published: 4 May 2017 09:04 CEST
Last Swiss winter was one of least snowy on record
Snow was distinctly thin on the ground over the winter. Photo: D Balmer/WSL
In its assessment of the season on Wednesday the WSL institute for the study of snow and avalanches said in a statement: “Despite the snow that fell in January winter 2016/17 was one of the least snowy winters every recorded.” 
 
Though the season started well with snow in November, causing some ski resorts to open early, that was followed by one of the driest Decembers on record. 
 
Snow finally returned in January, though the quantities were smaller than the previous year. However extremely cold temperatures meant it stayed around for a good few weeks, even at low altitude. 
 
March saw significant snowfall, but mild temperatures meant it quickly melted, said the institute. 
 
As a result “numerous ski resorts experienced the shortest continuous period of snow ever recorded,” it said.
 
The lack of snow did have one up side, however: there were fewer deaths from avalanches last season.
 
The institute announced the lowest avalanche risk indicator (1) twice as often as the average for the past ten years, it said.
 
By the end of April seven people had lost their lives in avalanches in Switzerland, 65 percent lower than the average of 20 victims per season across the past 20 years.
 
Among those seven, five were hikers and two were off-piste skiers.
 
A total of 148 people were caught in avalanches, 20 percent fewer than usual.
 

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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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