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2018 was hottest year on record for much of Switzerland

The Local
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2018 was hottest year on record for much of Switzerland
Water games in the Swiss city of Lausanne on July 14th. Photo: AFP

This year was the hottest ever recorded in northern Switzerland while the same could yet prove to be true for areas south of the Alps.

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Temperatures across the country in 2018 were an average 2.5C higher than for the years from 1961 to 1990, SRF Meteo said in a statement.

Temperatures were also an average 2C higher in the north in the country and 1.5C higher south of the Alps compared to the period 1981 to 2010.

The pattern for the year was evident from the start with some parts of the country experiencing the warmest January on record. February and March were colder than usual but since then the country has notched up all sorts of weather records.

However, the hottest temperature in Switzerland this year – a very warm 36.2C in Sion in the canton of Valais on August 5th – is a long way short of the all-time record of 41.5C, seen in Misox in the canton of Graubünden in 2003.

Meanwhile, the coldest temperature recorded by official government weather stations was -30.9C on the Piz Corvatsch mountain, also in Graubünden.

Drought conditions at the Lac des Brenets on the Swiss–French border in September. Photo: AFP

The year 2018 will also be remembered for extremely dry conditions, especially from April through to October, although a wet January and higher than average rainfalls in autumn in many places mean that, in purely statistical terms, the last 12 months have not been remarkably dry, SRF Meteo reported.

Read also: Nine wonderful winter activities in Switzerland that aren't skiing

 

 

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