The Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss indicated in its publication on Saturday that maximum values of up to 35 degrees are possible in the country these days. another weather? It even holds 37 degrees in certain places.
It is very rare for temperatures to rise above 35 degrees in this country. “Extreme values around 35 degrees were an extreme event everywhere in Switzerland in the last century. Even in Basel and Geneva, where the highest temperatures are often recorded in Switzerland, extremes of 35 degrees and more were rare, ”the federal government writes. It happened that even in these two cities, 35 degrees Celsius was not reached for 15 to 20 yr. However: from 2001, 35° and more were found more frequently and at shorter intervals in Geneva and Basel.
However, according to statistics, 2003 was an exception – between August 4 and August 13. There was a major heat wave in France, which also affected Switzerland. “The hills provided a subsidence, which greatly heated and dried the air. In addition, the soil was very dry at that time, which also led to daily maximum air temperatures, which is why daily maximum temperatures of 35 degrees and more were measured in ten Consecutive days in Basel and Geneva. Normally, between 1901 and 2000, it was not even possible to record 10 days with maximum values over 35 degrees for a whole decade,” MeteoSwiss looks back.
There are hardly any maximums over 35 degrees per day in Zurich or Lugano
The values for Zurich and Lugano show that there can be serious differences in Switzerland in this regard. According to MeteoSwiss, the thermometer in Zurich showed more than 35 degrees only on 5 days in the 20th century, namely in 1921, twice in 1947 and twice in 1983.
It doesn’t look much different in Lugano. There in the last century 35 ° was exceeded first on July 23, 1945 and then twice in July 1983. In other words, in Lugano between 1901 and 2000 35 ° was reached or exceeded in only 3 days.
So MeteoSwiss has come to the conclusion that daily maximum temperatures of more than 35 degrees are still rare in many regions of the country.
The number of days with a daily maximum of 35 degrees and over per decade in the time period 1901 to 2020 at the Geneva, Basel, Zurich and Lugano locations.
Image: MeteoSwiss screenshot
What is climate change doing to Bern?
And in Berne? The Berner Zeitung newspaper wrote about a year ago that in the record period from 1991 to 2020, the annual maximum temperature in the country’s capital was an average of 32.6 degrees. On July 19, 2022, 35.1 degrees was reported in Bern, and in 2003 in Sollikofen near Bern, 36.8 degrees was measured.
A federal expert explained to the editorial office this past summer: “Without global climate protection, the number of hot days in Bern will increase several times in the future. The 30-degree mark is often exceeded on consecutive days, which leads to a general increase in heat waves at low altitudes. With Climate change, these will happen more frequently and will be more severe and last longer.”
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