Weather January brings mild record temperatures instead of winter cold

SDA

30.1.2025 - 15:25

Instead of winter cold, January 2025 has repeatedly brought very mild record temperatures. (archive image)
Instead of winter cold, January 2025 has repeatedly brought very mild record temperatures. (archive image)
Keystone

Instead of winter cold, January has brought two mild periods with record temperatures this year. The national average January temperature is currently minus 0.8 degrees. This means that this year's January is 1.5 degrees above the norm for the period from 1991 to 2020.

Keystone-SDA

At 1.9 degrees above the norm, Geneva recorded the seventh warmest January and Lugano the ninth warmest since measurements began in 1864 at 1.2 degrees above the norm. MeteoSwiss reported on Thursday that the month of January in Switzerland's current climate was on average 2.7 degrees warmer than during the pre-industrial reference period from 1871 to 1900.

The first third of the month brought changeable weather and from January 5 to 10, very mild conditions persisted on the northern side of the Alps, in Valais and in Graubünden. The average daily temperature in these areas was 4 to 7 degrees higher than usual.

On January 5 and 6, seven measuring locations recorded one of the ten highest January daily average temperatures since measurements began. For example, 10.3 degrees were measured in Adelboden and 14.4 degrees in Vaduz.

A second warm wave brought extremely mild air to Switzerland from the southwest from January 24 to 27. The daily maximum temperature reached 14 to 16 degrees north of the Alps and in Valais. On Lake Geneva and in north-western and north-eastern Switzerland, temperatures reached 16 to 18 degrees.

The very mild conditions led to one of the five highest daily maximum temperatures in January since measurements began at 19 measurement locations. New January records were set in Glarus (17.6 degrees) and St. Gallen (16.2 degrees), among others.