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 […]
How hot politics in the Balkans slowed the clock on your oven
Switzerland’s power grid is part of a large pool of ebbing and flowing electricity spanning 25 countries, known as the Continental European (EC) power grid. Enough electricity must be fed into it to keep it at a stable frequency. The EC’s magic number is 50 Hz. Maintaining this requires a carefully coordinated trans-national balancing act. […]
Photos – Switzerland’s Siberian lakeside ice sculptures
Recent sub-zero temperatures and Arctic winds have left a dazzling array of ice sculptures on the shores of some of Switzerland’s lakes. Here is a small selection of photos from the many posted on Instagram. #icestatues on #lakegeneva #switzerland?? Une publication partagée par @ cgt_gva le 28 Févr. 2018 à 6 :54 PST Hier, #Genève en […]
