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WEATHER

Switzerland faces hotter, drier summers and snow-scarce winters: study

Switzerland can expect drier summers, more hot days, heavy rainfall and snow-scarce winters if greenhouse gas emissions remain unchecked, according to new climate modelling.

Published: 13 November 2018 20:11 CET
Switzerland faces hotter, drier summers and snow-scarce winters: study
Slopes without snow in the Swiss Alps resort of Les Crosets in January 2017. File photo: AFP

The Climate Scenarios CH2018 study warns Switzerland could in future have to deal with problems like dry soil, tropical nights and increased flooding.

Read also: Switzerland is rapidly losing its snow (and climate change is probably to blame)

“We have to prepare for the changing climate and adapt,” said project leader Andreas Fischer from Switzerland’s Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss).

Researchers from MeteoSwiss, the University of Bern and Zurich's ETH technology institute mapped climate scenarios for the next 100 years to build their models.

That modelling indicates Switzerland could face drier summers with 25 percent less rainfall than is seen currently if climate change is not mitigated (a scenario which would mean a possible rise in average global temperatures of 2–3C by the middle of this century).

These drier summers would also lead to drier soils, according to a statement put out by ETH on Tuesday.

Hot summers like 2018 and the record-breaking summer of 2013 could also become normal with temperatures up 2C to 5.5C on today on the hottest days of the year. Heatwaves would be both more common and more extreme.

At the same time, rainfall could also become heavier: up to 10 percent on current single-day highs.

Lastly, winters could get as much as 2C to 3.5C warmer meaning a higher snow line and only half as much snow at low altitudes compared to now.

For their study, researchers also looked at a scenario where mitigation measures limited the global temperature increase to 2C above pre-industrial levels.

“With consistent climate mitigation, about half of the potential changes in Switzerland’s climate could be avoided by the middle of the 21st century, and about two thirds could be avoided by the end of the century,” says Reto Knutti, climate scientist at ETH Zurich.

But the best-case scenario still means adapting to increased global temperatures. There is no resetting the clock, according to the study models.

Read also: Survey- Swiss believe in made-made climate change but do little to combat it

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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