June 2022 was the second hottest June since measures began in 1864, reported RTS. In several places maximum daytime temperatures reached all-time records for the month. The average temperature across Switzerland in June 2022 was 2.7 degrees above the norm over the period from 1991-2020. Since 1864, only June 2003 was hotter. Then average monthly […]
Swiss parliamentarian calls for cuts on marketing to distant tourists
Christophe Clivaz, a parliamentarian from the Green Party in Valais is demanding that subsidies given to Swiss Tourism not be used to promote tourism that involves flying, reported 20 Minutes. Switzerland is busy developing sustainable tourism under the brand Swisstainable. However, when tourism booms aviation booms with it. So how can tourism be sustainable? asks […]
Enormous Swiss water battery to start operating next week
A water battery that can store up to 20 million kWh of electricity constructed in the Swiss canton of Valais is scheduled to start operating on 1 July 2022, announced the company Nant de Drance SA this week. The Nant de Drance power plant is a pumped storage power plant in a subterranean cavern located […]
Switzerland’s underground freight project gets start date
This week, a project to build an underground freight tunnel network stretching from Geneva to St Gallen, was given a start date of 1 August 2022 by the Federal Council, reported RTS. The Cargo sous terrain (CST) project will connect Switzerland’s key hubs starting in 2031. CST aims to take the strain off the road […]
Swiss road traffic almost back to pre-Covid level
Less traffic was one silver lining of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, long hours spent in traffic jams returned to Switzerland in 2021. On some stretches the waiting is worse. A report published this week by Switzerland’s Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) is grim reading for road users in a hurry. The Covid pandemic led to a […]
Swiss government changes solar electricity rules
On 2 June 2022, Switzerland’s parliament adopted two motions to accelerate the adoption of solar panels. The first motion aimed to allow private individuals to earn better returns on the electricity they produce. Under the proposal they would be able to sell electricity to other individuals, municipalities and cantons without paying heavy network charges. 140 […]
Polluted areas in Switzerland – do you live near one?
According to Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) there are 38,000 polluted zones covering 220 square kilometres spread across the country, reported RTS. 220 square kilometres is equivalent to nearly 80% of the canton of Geneva. The interactive map below combines data from the army, public transport, civil aerodromes and cantons to present polluted […]
Geneva’s Green Party meat ban divides party
This week, Geneva’s Green Party decided to ban its representatives from eating meat on environmental grounds and to deflect accusations of hypocrisy. However, the decision has divided the party, reported the newspaper Le Matin. The party met to hold a vote on the ban, but the issue was so divisive the party watered down the […]
Swiss significantly underestimate scale of biodiversity crisis in Switzerland
Switzerland has the highest proportion of threatened species in the OECD, according to Pronatura. However, a clear majority of the population thinks the situation is fine, according to a survey. Switzerland has already lost the grey partridge, the torrents cricket and the linseed dodder. Next in line could be the hedgehog, the hoopoe bird (see […]
Electricity prices set to jump next year in Switzerland
As the prices of the fossil fuels used to produce electricity across Europe rise so must the price of electricity. According to the Association of Swiss Electricity Companies (AES), record market prices mean that a majority of electrical supply companies will have to charge their customers higher prices in 2023. A survey run by the […]
