Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

WEATHER

Switzerland set for cold snap this week

After several days of relatively mild temperatures, snow in the plains and a cold snap are expected in Switzerland in the next few days.

Published: 10 February 2021 10:57 CET
Switzerland set for cold snap this week
That's what parts of the country may look like this week. Photo by AFP

The disturbance that will cross the north of the Alps Wednesday night could dump four to eight cm of fresh snow on the Plateau Romand, according to a forecast by Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (Meteosuisse).

Then the snow will give way to a particularly cold wind.

The plains should be covered with a snowpack of a few centimetres. The northern Plateau could receive up to eight cm of fresh snow due to a cold draft in the region. 

On the other hand, on the shores of Lake Geneva below 500 m, as well as in the Rhône valley, the snow should not exceed three cm. It is more likely to rain or rain-snow at lower elevations, Meteosuisse reports.

The rest of the week will also be significantly colder due an influx of polar air.

On the plateau, the temperature could drop to -8 to -12 degrees Centigrade.

READ MORE: Weather warning: Part of Swiss Alps placed on high avalanche alert

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

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.

READ ALSO:

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.

SHOW COMMENTS