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WEATHER

Geneva smashes records with temps nudging 40C

The mercury rose to almost 40C in Geneva on Tuesday, smashing weather records, as other cities in western Switzerland also recorded historic highs on the seventh day of a sizzling heatwave set to give way to thunderstorms and cooler conditions on Wednesday.

Published: 7 July 2015 20:30 CEST
Geneva smashes records with temps nudging 40C
Photo: Lykaestria

The temperature reached 39.7C in Geneva on Tuesday afternoon, the hottest ever recorded in Switzerland north of the Alps, the national weather office MeteoSwiss reported.

It was also the highest registered in Geneva, beating the previous record of 38.9C set in 1921, although it fell short of the all-time record high for Switzerland of 41.5C in Grono, a municipality of the Mesolcina valley in the canton of Graubünden during a heatwave in 2003.

Records fell in other cities in French-speaking Switzerland such as Nyon (38 degrees) and Payerne (37.9C) in the canton of Vaud (38C), Neuchâtel (37.8C), Fribourg (36.6C) and Sion (37.8C) in the canton of Valais.

Bern, the Swiss capital, also posted a new record high of 36.8 degrees, MeteoSwiss said.

“In summary we can say it was the second or third hottest day ever registered in Switzerland,” Frédéric Glassey, of MeteoNews told the ATS news agency.

In Geneva, the heat forced authorities to close the city’s municipal libraries, while its art and history museum shut its doors on the weekend.

The hot weather has also boosted ozone levels, prompting authorities to offer commuters reduced fares for public transit in a bid to encourage motorists to leave their cars at home.

Lakeside beaches and river swimming areas have been inundated with people seeking to beat the heat but at least seven people have drowned in the past week.

The latest incident involved a man who died in Lake Geneva while swimming off the waterfront of the Perle du Lac park, near the World Trade Organization's headquarters.

Cantonal police said the man's body was found about 15 metres from shore and that he died at around 5.30pm.

No other details were immediately available.

The heatwave, which started last Wednesday, has lasted seven days, which is rare for Switzerland.

Blistering hot temperatures were also recorded in other European countries, including Spain and France as warm air pushed north from Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.

MeteoSwiss issued level 4 alerts for hot weather (out of a scale of five).

But it switched its warnings to storm alerts for late Tuesday, with a high risk of heavy rain, strong winds and hail extending from Geneva to include the Jura, the western Alps and the Bernese Oberland.

Maximum temperatures are set to fall to between 19C and 27C in western Switzerland, while top temperatures in German-speaking Switzerland are not expected to exceed 24C.

In southern canton of Ticino highs of around 31C are forecast. 

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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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