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Swiss heatwave follows rain and wind storms

Malcolm Curtis
Malcolm Curtis - [email protected]
Swiss heatwave follows rain and wind storms
Photo: Lykaestria

After a cool spring, torrential rains, flooding and wind storms, Switzerland is now sweating it out through a heatwave.

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The mercury rose to 36 degrees on Monday afternoon in Saint Maurice in the canton of Valais, setting the record high for the country, according to Meteomedia.

But temperatures rose above 30 degrees in plenty of other locations in Valais and German-speaking Switzerland, the weather news service reported.

Thermometers soared to 34.5 degrees in Sion, the capital of Valais, and up to 34.4 degrees in Delémont, the capital of the canton of Jura.

Basel recorded a high of 34 degrees, Zurich 33, Berne and Lucerne 32 and Geneva 30, according to MeteoSwiss, the national weather office.

The weather is expected to be a degree or two hotter on Tuesday as warm air from North Africa continues to funnel up to the Alpine country.

Eastern France is also expected to experience extreme heat with highs of 37 degrees or more in Alsace.

If it’s any consolation for those without air conditioning, the temperatures in Switzerland remain short of records for this time of year.

MeteoSwiss said highs around the country were between one and three degrees lower than those set in 2003, a year known for its torrid summer.

And the heatwave is expected to be short-lived, with highs falling back by 10 to 12 degrees by Thursday.

In the meantime, swimming pools and beaches around the country that were empty a couple of weeks ago have regained newfound popularity.

With rain forecast for next weekend, bathers have to jump at the opportunity.

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