Switzerland’s lower house has watered down plans to improve working conditions for nurses, despite a looming staff shortage. Meeting in special session, the Swiss National Council diluted several elements of a government reform tied to the nursing-care initiative approved by voters in 2021. Lawmakers rejected a proposal to cut the maximum working week for nurses […]
How too many livestock keep Switzerland from feeding itself
Switzerland could produce far more of its own food while cutting environmental damage, according to a study published late last year, which argues that eliminating inefficiencies in the food system—especially feed production and waste—would sharply raise food output. The country’s self-sufficiency rate (SSR), a measure of how many consumed calories are produced domestically, is just […]
Early-onset colorectal cancer on the rise in Switzerland
Colorectal cancer among younger people in rising across the world. A new study published this week shows Switzerland is no exception. About seven in 100,000 people under 50 are diagnosed annually. and the trend is moving in the wrong direction. The study by researchers at the University of Geneva and Geneva’s University Hospital analysed nearly […]
Swiss crackdown on forever chemicals faces resistance from farmers
Switzerland’s federal government is stepping up efforts to tackle contamination from PFAS—so-called forever chemicals—but is meeting resistance from cantons and parliament. According to reporting by SRF, officials plan to issue a directive requiring cantons to test for PFAS in food and impose sales bans on contaminated meat and eggs. The move follows cases in places […]
Tick bites on the rise in Switzerland
Tick bites are on the rise in Switzerland. Suva, the national accident insurance provider, estimates that nearly 18,000 cases were recorded in 2025, close to the peak seen in 2020 and well above the 9,000 reported annually in the mid-2000s. Between 2020 and 2024 the figure had already climbed to more than 14,000 a year. […]
Young Swiss prefer stability over change and dissent
Young Swiss adults are less inclined to rebel than to seek stability, according to the latest Youth Barometer by the research institute GFS Bern, conducted for the pharmaceutical firm Merck. Based on a survey of 1,009 people aged 16 to 30, the study challenges familiar clichés about a restless, risk-taking youth. Rebellion and other supposed […]
Switzerland prepares for the arrival of ultra-potent opioids
Swiss authorities are preparing for the likely arrival of a new class of highly potent synthetic opioids, reports RTS. In cantons such as Geneva and Fribourg, officials have recently announced measures to anticipate the spread of nitazenes—laboratory-made drugs that can be up to 50 times stronger than fentanyl. For now, Switzerland has largely been spared. […]
Swiss mountain rescue exceptionally busy over Easter
Switzerland’s alpine rescue services were unusually busy over the Easter weekend, as fine weather drew large numbers into the mountains. Between April 3rd and 6th, Air-Glaciers and Air Zermatt carried out a combined 121 helicopter missions, more than double the 51 recorded over the same period in 2025. Rega, a separate national service, conducted a […]
Above average number of avalanche victims this winter in Switzerland
Avalanches swept away more people than usual in the winter of 2025–26, though the death toll remained broadly in line with the average. A fragile snowpack led to a surge in incidents. By the end of March, 244 people had been caught in 171 avalanches, according to the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research […]
Swiss court upholds ban on chemical chlorothalonil
Switzerland’s ban on chlorothalonil will remain in force, according to a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court published on Thursday. Judges dismissed an appeal by Syngenta, which had challenged the prohibition of fungicides containing the substance. The ban dates back to December 2019, when the Federal Office for Agriculture withdrew approval for plant-protection products based […]
