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Winter makes dramatic May return in Switzerland

People in some parts of Switzerland had to rub their eyes with disbelief on Sunday as they woke up to fresh snow.

Published: 6 May 2019 09:36 CEST
Updated: 6 May 2019 11:36 CEST
Winter makes dramatic May return in Switzerland
Horses in Switzerland in April. File photo: AFP

The Swiss capital of Bern saw four centimetres of snow on Sunday – a new record for the latest date for fresh snow in the city. The previous latest date for new snow was on May 1st in 1945.

The eastern city of St Gallen, which is 669 metres above sea level, also saw its latest snow ever. The cathedral city saw total snowfall of 19 centimetres.

The week has also got off to an icy start in Switzerland, even in low-lying areas, with forecasters issuing a frost warning.

The temperature in Bern on Monday morning was a decidedly chilly –2.3C, while in Mathod in the canton of Vaud, that was –2.6C.

The forecast maximums for Monday are 13C in Geneva, 10C in Bern and Zurich and 7C in St Gallen where conditions remain cooler. In Ticino, sun and temperatures of around 17C are expected.

The weekend’s cold temperatures come on the heels of an April that was slightly warmer than usual in many parts of Switzerland. Total sunshine hours were around average, private weather service MeteoNews reported.

The forecast for this week from official Swiss meteorological service MeteoSwiss.

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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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