According to Swiss Meteo, north of the Alps, March 2018 was around one degree colder than average monthly temperatures between 1981 and 2010. South of the Alps it was one of the coldest in 30 years. March 2017 was Switzerland’s hottest March since 1864, registering an average temperature 3 degrees above the norm, an average […]
Food consumes far less of Swiss budgets than it did 25 years ago
Comparing the most recent statistics on Swiss consumer inflation to those in 1993 reveals a steep drop in the percentage of spending allocated to food. When statisticians calculate consumer price rises they look at the prices of a standard basket of goods. In 1993, food and non-alcoholic beverages made up 14.3% of the value of […]
Swiss fact: more than 60% of one Swiss canton is farmed organically
25% of Switzerland’s surface is farmed, a total of just over 1 million hectares. Much of the rest is mountains or forest. Of this roughly 1 million hectares, 142,000 hectares (13.5%) is farmed organically. The organic percentage varies hugely by canton and even more by region. The canton with the least organic farming is Appenzell […]
Swiss traffic misery – worst traffic days of the year
If you thought you’d beat Switzerland’s traffic by leaving on Good Friday (30 March 2018) you’ll be disappointed. The two worst days for traffic in the first quarter of this year are Good Friday and the day before it – 29 March 2018. This map shows Easter traffic hotspots. Traffic predictor Via Suisse has four […]
Swiss government raises allowable limits for pesticide residues in waterways
In 1998, the maximum concentration of micro pollutants, such as heavy metals, drug residues, pesticides and other substances in the water of Swiss lakes and waterways was set at 0.1 μg/litre. This month Switzerland’s government decided to change this limit, reducing it for some pollutants, but setting it significantly higher for many others. Among the […]
Crime down in Switzerland – home break-in remains more likely than vehicle theft
Statistics published today show a significant drop in most types of crime in Switzerland. Between 2009 and 2017, the number of break ins fell by 36%, steeper than the fall in the number of vehicle thefts, which declined by 26%. In 2009, there were 64,268 break ins, compared to 41,351 in 2017, while vehicle thefts […]
100-year time lapse shows Alpine glacier shrinkage
The 100-year time lapse project, the work of aerial photographer Kieran Baxter, uses old archival photographs of glaciers to look back in time and compare them to footage today. In 1909, Swiss-born Eduard Spelterini took off from Chamonix in a gas-filled balloon and flew over the Mer de Glace glacier before continuing onwards to Switzerland. Spelterini gained his […]
Swiss to vote on compulsory cat castration
Switzerland has many laws relating to animals. In January 2018, it made world news after banning live lobster boiling. Now there is an initiative to prevent suffering among cats. More than 100,000 signatures, the number required to hold a federal referendum, have been collected for an initiative that aims to make it compulsory to have […]
Swiss clocks move forward one hour this Sunday
Early on Sunday 25 March 2018 – at 2am to be precise – Swiss clocks move forward one hour. This means you will miss one hour of sleep and it will be darker when you get up. On the plus side, it will be lighter for longer in the evenings. Much of the rest of […]
Snow returns to Switzerland this weekend
Snow is set to return to Switzerland falling on regions above 1,100 metres on Friday evening across the Lake Geneva region. On Saturday the snow limit is forecast to fall to 600 metres. In addition, the Bise wind is set strengthen over the course of Friday afternoon, according to Meteo Suisse. In German-speaking Switzerland the […]
