30C – 35C: Government issues heatwave alert for southern Switzerland
Though it has already been quite hot the past few days, it will become even more so on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The heatwave warning is in effect for the Lake Geneva region (cantons of Geneva and Vaud), as well as for Valais and Ticino, where “maximum temperatures are expected to reach 32C, with regional variations between 30 and 35C,” according to the official government weather service, MeteoSwiss.
Switzerland’s ‘Air Rail’ service now available for Air France flights as well
Passengers travelling from Geneva or Zurich to Paris CDG airport on Air France can now book their flights and train tickets in a single transaction.
This is an extension of a service already available from the national rail company, SBB, for SWISS airline customers, though on a much smaller scale than in Switzerland.
Currently, Air France travellers on the following routes can benefit from this service:
- Paris CDG – Geneva (airport station), with connections to Bern, Lausanne, Fribourg and Biel/Bienne stations.
- Paris CDG – Zurich (airport station) with connections to/from Bern, Thun and St. Gallen.
More connections are envisioned for the future.
Swiss and German farmers at odds over…potatoes
The cross-border tiff is sparked by an old agreement between Bern and Berlin that allows Swiss farmers to import German crops without paying customs duties, and to sell them at a higher price under the Swiss label — but only as long as the potatoe fields are located within 20 km of the Swiss border.
This is fuelling discontent among farmers in Baden-Württemberg, the German region bordering Swizerland.
“This is an unfair competition,” said German organic farmer Oswald Tröndle. “The Swiss should be forced to clear their German goods through customs.”
However, Christoph Graf, president of the Farmers’ Union in Schaffhausen, a canton where where one in four farmers benefits from these duty-free imports ,retorted that “the Germans are selling to us of their own free will.”
And “if the economic situation were reversed, the Germans would do exactly the same thing,” he added.
The number of hiking accidents is up sharply
Every year, around 40,000 such accidents occur in Switzerland. On average, 53 people die each year while practising the country’s most popular sport, according to Accident Prevention Bureau (BFU).
And, according to BFU’s spokesperson, Mara Zenhäuser. the number of accidents has increased disproportionately compared to population growth.
Among the reasons, “there are probably more inexperienced people on the trails, who have no knowledge of the dangers of the mountains and who also take more risks,” she told RTS public broadcaster on Sunday.
READ ALSO: Where are Switzerland’s most dangerous hiking trails?
However, hiking is not the only summertime activity claiming dozens of lives each year: swimming is another one:
READ ALSO: How to stay safe when swimming in Switzerland’s lakes and rivers this summer
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The daily round-up is the first article I look at on thelocal.ch – that’s intentional praise where it’s due.
Unfortunately – today we have a grammatical error, although it doesn’t detract from the overall quality. I think the phrase “while practicing the country’s most popular sport” should really be “while practising the country’s most popular sport”. Now you can call me pedantic – you wouldn’t be the first – but where I come from such things matter. I hope someone out there agrees with me.
THanks Nigel. Nothing wrong with being pedantic at all.