Climate A white Christmas used to be the exception on the Central Plateau
For many people, Christmas without snow is not a real Christmas. However, a look at the statistics shows that white Christmases used to be the exception on the Central Plateau.
16.12.2025, 12:32
SDA
In Bern Zollikofen and Zurich Fluntern, for example, there has been no snow on Christmas Day in over 60 percent of years in the measurement period since 1931, according to figures from the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss). In Basel, it even remained green over Christmas in more than three out of four years and in Lugano in more than 80 percent of years.
Things look better in the mountains. In Davos, there has only been one Christmas Day without snow since 1931. That was in 2016.
Less and less snow
Nevertheless, snow-free years have become more frequent. In Basel, there has not been a single snowfall at Christmas in the last 10 years; in the first ten years of the measurement period, Basel residents experienced four white Christmases. In Zurich, snow fell again over the festive period last year for the first time after 13 snow-free Christmases - the longest ever wait for a white Christmas. The picture is similar in the other lowland regions.
An analysis by the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) also shows that there is less and less snow in Switzerland as climate change progresses. According to the study, there have been up to 60 percent fewer snow days in the past 30 years than in the 30 years between 1963 and 1992, depending on the location.
According to the SLF, if the earth continues to warm up as it has so far, it will only snow in Zurich every 15 years or so from 2050 - and whether the snow will fall at Christmas is another question. According to the forecasts, green Christmases are also likely to become more frequent in the Alps in the future.
