The heatwave has had a marked impact on Switzerland’s hydro landscape. However, not all regions have been affected in the same way. Hydro electric plants in lowland areas have seen production fall as river flows have declined. Guillaume Gros, head of production at Romande Energie, told RTS that some small low-lying turbines were switched off […]
Traffic cost Switzerland nearly 2 billion francs in 2015
Traffic cost the nation 1.9 billion francs in 2015, according to calculations by Switzerland’s Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE). Most of the cost (69%) was time lost waiting in traffic. The cost of traffic related accidents accounted for a further 24%, and wasted energy (5%) and environmental costs (2%) made up the rest. Between […]
Switzerland bans new Audi cars from its roads
Switzerland’s Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) has banned the registration of generation 7 Audi A6 and A7 diesel cars, which have been affected by emissions manipulation. The A6 and A7 3.0 diesel models, which are required to comply with Euro 6 standards, were found to have been equipped with illegal defeat devices affecting exhaust emissions. FEDRO […]
Swiss town engulfed in mudslide
On Tuesday evening, a flash flood of mud engulfed the Alpine town of Grugnay in the canton of Valais in Switzerland, according to RTS. High-altitude mud flows triggered by heavy storm rain hit the village at around 7:15 pm, according to the broadcaster. Some cars and houses were damaged and two roads were closed. The […]
Swiss temperatures hit annual high
On Tuesday, the temperature reached 35.5 degrees in the town of Cevio in Ticino, Switzerland’s highest temperature this year. At the same time Swiss Meteo raised Ticino’s heat wave warning to 4, one level from its maximum 5. The meteorological service’s warning remains in place until 5 August 2018 and comes with a forecast of […]
Fireworks banned in many parts of Switzerland
Various bans related to fireworks are in place across Switzerland in the lead up to national day festivities on 1 August. Some regions have banned private firework displays, some have banned sales, other could ban all displays. For example, the commune of Chur has banned all fireworks including public displays, according to Tribune de Genève. […]
Heatwave warning for Switzerland
Temperatures are set to climb to as high as 35 degrees in parts of Switzerland this week, according to Swiss Meteo. The meteorological service has issued a level three heat wave warning, which it describes as severe. Warnings are measure on a scale of five. Regions affected include Valais, Lake Geneva, Ticino and Basel. Switzerland’s […]
Longest lunar eclipse of the century arrives this Friday evening
On 27 and 28 July 2018 the moon will be in the earth’s shadow. The moon will spend one hour and 43 minutes in the earth’s shadow. The last time this was exceeded was in 318 when the moon spent one hour and 47 minutes in the earth’s shadow. The spectacle will only be visible […]
Sales of glyphosate down by nearly a third in Switzerland
Sales of the controversial synthetic herbicide glyphosate dropped by 31% in the two years from 2014, according to Switzerland’s Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG). In 2014, 296 tonnes of the chemical were sold in Switzerland. By 2016, sales had fallen to 204 tonnes, a 31% fall. FOAG attributes some of this decline to increased mechanical […]
Gotthard tunnel queue stretches 14 kilometres
Last Saturday morning, a queue of traffic stretched 14 kilometres from the northern entrance of Switzerland’s Gotthard tunnel, according to RTS. At its peak, waiting time reached 2 hours and 20 minutes. The Gotthard tunnel is the main road link between Zurich and Milan. The obvious alternative is the San Bernardino pass. Normally this route […]
