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Swiss heatwave expected over holiday weekend

After a tentative start to summer, punctuated by cool spells and rain, Switzerland is bracing for its first heatwave this long Whitsun weekend.

Published: 5 June 2014 22:43 CEST
Swiss heatwave expected over holiday weekend
MeteoSwiss weather map showing expected highs across the country on Monday.

Forecasters expect temperatures to surpass 30 degrees starting on Saturday, with hot weather continuing into the middle of next week.

MeteoSwiss, the national weather office, is predicting the mercury will rise as high as 34 degrees in some parts of Switzerland on Sunday.

Highs of 34 degrees are forecast in the cantons of Geneva and Valais on Whit Monday, and 33 degrees in Basel and Zurich.

Isolated thunderstorms could occur in mountain regions throughout the long weekend, MeteoSwiss said.

In the canton of Vaud, the health department has put in place a heatwave plan to deal with possible risks stemming from high temperatures.

Young children and elderly and frail people are particularly at risk when temperatures rise and they are advised to stay indoors.

In Switzerland a heatwave warning is generally only issued when temperatures of 33 degrees or more are expected for three consecutive days.

The Vaud health department warned that extreme heat can lead to fatalities.

In the event of unusually hot weather the department is counselling the public to rest, reduce physical activity, cool off regularly, eat lightly and drink water regularly.  

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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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