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WEATHER

River swimmers advised of cold water risks

As Switzerland basks in the sun for a second day swimmers are being warned that many rivers and lakes have yet to heat up.

Published: 24 June 2016 11:11 CEST
River swimmers advised of cold water risks
Cooling off should be done with care. Photo: bad-info.ch

The country experienced its first tropical night of the year on Thursday, according to the French-language 20 minutes, with temperatures not falling below 20 degrees in the cantons of Vaud and Valais.

It quoted weather service Meteonews as saying the warmest place overnight (22.5 degrees) was Rünenberg in the cantonal of Basel-Land.

The mini heatwave that arrived on Thursday brought temperatures of up to 35 degrees, tempting many to head for a river or lake.

But, according to the paper, experts warned swimmers not to expect warm water temperatures as a result.

The water temperature in rivers is lower than at this time last year, which could result in swimmers experiencing potentially fatal muscle cramps, it quoted Reto Abächerli of the Swiss lifesavers’ society SLRG SSS as saying.

In addition, the heavy rain that preceded the heatwave means many rivers are swollen.

“In a river a high water level also means a stronger current,” said Abächerli.

“This means it takes longer to reach the shore.”

The water temperature in Swiss lakes is currently between 17 and 24 degrees, meteonews reported.

On Wednesday an asylum seeker drowned in a lake near Aesch in the canton of Lucerne, 20 minutes said, bringing the number of those who have drowned this year to 11.

The heatwave is likely to be of short duration. Meteonews forecasts a cold weather front for Friday evening, accompanied by storms.

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WEATHER

Why are there so many weather-related disasters in Switzerland this summer?

From mudslides to flooded hiking trails, several Swiss regions have suffered serious weather-related damage during this year’s summer season.

Published: 14 August 2024 13:40 CEST
Why are there so many weather-related disasters in Switzerland this summer?

In the past weeks, frequent spells of extreme weather claimed lives and caused considerable material damage in several regions of the country.

Among them:

In June, parts of Switzerland, including the canton of Graubünden and the resort of Zermatt in Valais, were hit by huge floods, which claimed the lives of three people and left buildings and roads destroyed.

They were triggered by a violent thunderstorm that unleashed the rivers, causing a rock and mud avalanche in the municipality of Misox.

Additionally, landslide of mud and rubble destroyed a part of the north-south axis of the A13 motorway.

Areas of Valais and Ticino were also among those badly damaged by storms, with three people dead and five missing in the latter canton; the upper Val Maggia remained cut off from the rest of the country and without water and electricity for days.

And just this week, two people were injured in a massive storm in Brienz (canton Bern) and 70 others had to be evacuated from their homes, after the Milibach river overflowed after heavy rains, carrying stones, boulders and wood, which caused a water collector above the village to flow uncontrollably.

Buildings, parked vehicles, roads and public transport infrastructure were damaged.

Also, more than 620 trails –1,300 km in total – had to be closed to hikers due to heavy rains and flooding that hit some regions of the country at the end of June. 

READ ALSO: Hikers in Switzerland warned as hundreds of trails close

Why has this been happening?

“The summer of 2024 has been marked by particularly bad weather,” said meteorologist Felix Blumer. “There is one or two damaging thunderstorms every summer, but this year, there have been lot of them.”

There is a scientific explanation for this phenomenon: according to Blumer, most of the summer so far, the weather in Switzerland has been dominated by low pressure areas.

“It is precisely the low pressure situations that are important, with the summer solar radiation, the ground heats up very strongly. The warm, light air can rise, cool down, condense – resulting in showers and thunderstorms.”

In a simple(r) language, low pressure gives way to warm air and rainstorms, which explains the high number of strong and destructive thunderstorms.

Is the weather this summer really more ‘extreme’ than in the past?

According to Thomas Schlegel from Switzerland’s official weather service MeteoSwiss, “due to the extreme events that have occurred so far, 2024 will certainly go down in history as a year with a lot of bad weather and damage.”

He also cited “exceptional” lightning activity during the thunderstorms: over 70,000 lightning strikes were recorded — more than during a typical summer.

In fact, two people who were working in a field in Fribourg during one such lightning episode in July, were struck and injured, along with a police officer and a REGA pilot who came to their rescue. 

What’s ahead, weather-wise?

MeteoSwiss’ eight-day weather forecast predicts more rain and thunderstorms, ranging in severity, in various Swiss regions. 

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