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WEATHER

Northern Switzerland records ‘latest summer day ever’

The thermometer climbed over the 30C-mark in the Swiss city of Chur on Friday making it the latest 'hot' day ever recorded north of the Alps in Switzerland.

Northern Switzerland records 'latest summer day ever’
Boats beside a jetty on the dried out bed of Lac Brenet in the Swiss canton of Vaud on September 20th. Photo: AFP

The summer of 2018 is the gift that keeps on giving.

On Friday, temperatures in Chur, the capital of Graubüden, hit the magic 30-degree mark, which indicates a 'hot' day for meteorologists.

Read also: IN PICTURES – 12 photos that will get you excited about autumn in Switzerland

That is the latest date this has ever happened in the part of Switzerland that lies north of the Alps and two days later than the previous record for northern Switzerland set in 1947 when 30C was seen on September 19th.

South of the Alps, the latest ever ‘hot’ day ever was on September 25th in 1983.

But the forecast for coming days suggests autumn may finally be on the way with distinctly cooler temperatures coming up for much of the country, especially from Monday on.

Image: MeteoSuisse

The new season will likely come as a shock after five months in a row of warmer than usual weather

August 2018 was the third warmest on record but a long way short of the hot temperatures seen in the legendary ‘once-in-a-century’ summer of 2018.

But while the good weather has been welcomed by many, it has also led to drought conditions in certain areas.

There has also been a high number of drownings while experts fear 2018 could see a new record for the number of deaths in the Swiss mountains after the good conditions saw more people heading to the Alps.

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.

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