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HEATWAVE

Hot spell pushes ‘zero-degree’ line to record height in Switzerland

A hot spell enveloping Europe has pushed the zero-degree line -- the altitude at which the temperature dips into the minus -- to a record height of nearly 5,300 metres (17,400 feet) in Switzerland.

Published: 21 August 2023 09:13 CEST
The Grimsel Pass, Obergoms, in Switzerland.
The Grimsel Pass, Obergoms, in Switzerland. Photo by Samuel Ferrara on Unsplash

The zero-degree line is determined by meteorologists using weather balloons that take off twice a day from Payerne in western Switzerland.

MeteoSwiss said the new height was clocked overnight from Sunday to Monday at 5,298 metres, “which constitutes a record since monitoring began in 1954”.

The previous record of 5,184 metres was set on July 25th last year.

“The area known as the zero-degree isotherm is the threshold between air layers with temperatures above 0C at lower altitudes and those with temperatures below freezing at higher altitudes,” MeteoSwiss said.

“Among other things, the zero-degree isotherm affects vegetation, the snow line and the water cycle, and so has a considerable impact on the habitats of humans, animals and plants alike,” it added, calling the marker “an integral part of weather forecasts in the Alpine region”.

Switzerland has been experiencing a sweltering hot weather over the last week, with several heat warnings in place. The heatwave is set to continue for a few more days.ย 

READ ALSO: How long will Switzerland’s heatwave last?

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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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