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WEATHER

40C: Switzerland set for another heatwave

After a weekend of mild to warm temperatures, a heatwave is headed for Switzerland which could push temperatures as high as 40C.

Published: 11 July 2022 17:29 CEST
Tourist wearing protective face masks stand with the Matterhorn mountain in background at the Gornergrat rocky ridge, 3'089 meter hight, above the resort of Zermatt as heatwave sweeps across Europe on August 8, 2020. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
Heatwaves are now a common occurrence in Switzerland. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The hot days are set to start on Wednesday, according to Swiss weather outlet Meteo News, where temperatures of 30C are forecast. 

Temperatures are set to rise to at least 35C, although highs of 40C could be hit. 

“Depending on the weather model, it can get really hot towards the weekend, so that the 35-degree mark can definitely be exceeded,” said Meteo News spokesperson Klaus Marquardt. 

“In the worst case, 40C can be expected.”

The reason for the heatwave is a high-altitude low which is bringing hot air across from the Iberian Peninsula and Northern Africa. 

Much of Portugal has been hit by wildfires this month as temperatures in the low 40s were seen across the country. 

READ MORE: What’s next after Switzerland’s ‘extremely worrying’ heatwave?

There will be no respite from the warm weather until well into next week, with temperatures climbing at weekend’s end. 

“The peak with temperatures above 35 degrees is expected next week on Monday or Tuesday. In Basel, for example, between 37 and 38 degrees are quite possible” Marquardt said. 

“The models are not yet in complete agreement about the course, duration and extent of this.”

What are the consequences of the heatwave?

As The Local already reported in June 2022, Swiss glaciers are now melting faster than usual, partly due to the early heat wave in May.
 
READ MORE: Why Switzerland’s glaciers are melting faster than usual this summer

But there is more.

Hydrologist Massimiliano Zappa, also warns that current very high temperatures and no rain could speed up the drought across Switzerland, especially as Swiss rivers and streams “have a lower flow than the average of previous years”.

Water rationing could become inevitable, he said.

 “In Spain and southern Italy, for example, people know how to get by with little water, because they have been educated to meet their daily needs with less. But this is not part of Swiss mentality”, Zappa said.

The heat wave could also impact railway installations as well as electronic devices, according to Le Temps newspaper.

“Overheated smartphones, expanding rails, and computer fans running at full speed: high temperatures put a strain on infrastructure and our everyday objects, while requiring more energy”, Le Temps said.
 

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WEATHER

Will Switzerland be visited by ‘Ice Saints’ this year?

Ascension is not the only annual happening in the country in May, as Switzerland also ‘celebrates’ another 'chilling' event this month.

Published: 8 May 2024 14:20 CEST
Will Switzerland be visited by 'Ice Saints' this year?

From May 11th to the 15th, a meteorological event takes place each year in Switzerland.

It “observes”, though admittedly not on scientific basis, a centuries-old weather phenomenon called “Ice Saints”.

What exactly is it?

As its name suggests, it is related to saints, as well as ice and frost.

The saints in question are St Mamertus, St Pancras, St Servatius and St Boniface.

According to a weather lore, once these Ice Saints have passed through Switzerland in the middle of May, frost will no longer pose a threat to farmers and their land.

As the official government meteorological service MeteoSwiss explains it, “spring frosts have been a regular occurrence for centuries, giving rise to the traditional belief that a blast of cold air often arrives in the middle of May. Over time, this piece of weather lore became known as the Ice Saints.”

Fact versus myth

You may be wondering whether the Ice Saints lore actually has basis in reality.

Records, which date back to 1965 and originate from the Geneva-Cointrin, Payerne, and Zurich-Kloten weather stations, “clearly show that, over the long-term average, frost directly above the soil is only a regular occurrence up until the middle of April”, MeteoSwiss says. “After that, the frequency with which ground frost occurs progressively declines to almost zero by the end of May.”

“We can conclude, therefore, that there is no evidence in Switzerland to confirm the Ice Saints as a period in May when ground frost is more common.”

However, MeteoSwiss does concede that “ground frost is nevertheless a regular occurrence throughout May as a whole…having occurred at least once or twice in May every year, and in around 40 percent of the years there were more than two days in May with ground frost.”

What about this year?

MeteoSwiss weather forecast for the next seven days indicates that, this year too, no frost will be present on the ground in mid-May.

In fact, temperatures through much of Switzerland will be in double digits, reaching between 18C and 25C, depending on the region.

You can see what to expect in your area, here. 

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