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WEATHER

Swiss avalanche kills one person and injures another

An avalanche in Reckingen in the southeastern Wallis region of Switzerland killed a 68-year-old on Saturday, while a second person was injured, police said.

Published: 6 February 2022 19:53 CET
A man uses a machine to clear a path through the snow in the ski resort of Wengen in the Swiss Alps
A man uses a machine to clear a path through the snow in the ski resort of Wengen in the Swiss Alps. Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP

The two were part of a group of four Italian hikers and were quickly found and freed from the snow by the other two. One died at the scene and the other was airlifted to hospital.

According to a provisional report by the MeteoSwiss weather service on Friday, people have been caught up in 45 avalanches so far this winter.

It urged people to be “careful, careful, careful”.

On Thursday, one person died and several others were injured in avalanches in Switzerland’s Graubunden region, which borders Austria’s Tyrol where avalanches have killed nine people over the last three days.

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WEATHER

What’s going on with Switzerland’s ‘summer’ weather and will it improve?

With frequent rains interlaced with sun, there has not been an uninterrupted stretch of good weather in Switzerland, as you’d normally expect from summer months. But this ‘spell’ is about to be broken.

Published: 23 July 2024 13:15 CEST
What's going on with Switzerland's 'summer' weather and will it improve?

In terms of weather, the past month has been chaotic: sunny days have been interrupted by bouts of heavy rains, literally dampening the spirits of all those hoping for an uninterrupted stretch of real summer.

Torrential rains have even turned tragic, unleashing flooding and landslides in some parts of Switzerland in June, which claimed several lives and caused substantial material damage.

Since then, the weather has been unstable, alternating between wet and dry spells.

But that is about to change.

‘Lots of sun and higher temperatures’

The mostly cloudy beginning of the week has morphed into a sunny Tuesday in most regions.

Wednesday and the rest of the week is expected to be the same, even though some cloud formations could hang over the Pre-Alps.

“But otherwise, in the plain regions, temperatures will be just within seasonal norms and close to 24 – 26C, and even 26 to 28C in Valais,” MeteoNews weather service indicates.

The forecast for the rest of the week also calls for “lots of sun and higher temperatures,” though occasional, regional thunderstorms can’t be ruled out.

What about the weekend?

On Saturday, temperatures will continue to rise, reaching 30C, and in certain regions even higher.

“In general, Thursday to Saturday will not only be very good weather for swimming, but also the best weather for hiking,” according to Switzerland’s official meteorological service, MeteoSwiss.

This is what you can expect in coming days, with the column on the left showing northeastern Switzerland, the middle one the western part, and the right one the south.

Screenshot from MeteoSwiss

Can we expect heatwaves?

Usually, when temperatures in Switzerland reach 30C, and last, uninterrupted, for several days or more, we can speak of a heatwave.

Meteorologists have not given any longer-term forecasts at this time, but if you are hoping to have a long stretch of extreme heat, be careful what you wish for.

Lest you forgot, summers of 2022 and 2023 were extremely hot, making a lot of people very uncomfortable — even more so since air-conditioning in Swiss homes is hard to come by and therefore rare.

READ ALSO: Why getting permission for air conditioners is so hard in Switzerland

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