Increasing health risks "Simply unprecedented" heat wave sweeps across Switzerland
Switzerland and France are currently experiencing an exceptional heatwave with temperatures of over 30 degrees in some places. Meteorologists are talking about near-record temperatures for May, and heat warnings have already been issued in France.
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- In Switzerland and France, an exceptional heatwave with temperatures above 30 degrees is causing record levels and is likely to continue for several days.
- Meteorologists attribute this to a stable high-pressure situation, which is becoming more frequent and more intense due to climate change.
- At the same time, the consequences of the heat are exacerbated by high ozone levels, particulate matter pollution and high pollen concentrations, which pose health risks for sensitive people in particular.
On Monday, temperatures rose to over 30 degrees in several places in Switzerland - and it will be hot on Tuesday too. According to MeteoSwiss, it will be 32 degrees in Geneva, 33 degrees in Sion and Basel and 31 degrees in Bern.
According to weather "influencer" Météo Robin, this is "simply unprecedented since weather records began almost 150 years ago", as he writes on Facebook. And the heatwave looks set to continue, explains the weather enthusiast from Chablais: "The plains are expected to remain above 30 degrees until Saturday, before it cools down a little at the end of the weekend and the beginning of next week. But beware, another rise in temperatures is very likely next week!"
In France, the heat is even more oppressive: an orange heat warning has been issued for Tuesday in eight departments in the west of the country. After a historically hot day, the heatwave is likely to intensify further - with an unprecedented "heatwave" for the month of May: temperatures of between 33 and 36 degrees are expected in large parts of Brittany.
"Across France, Monday was the warmest day recorded for a May since records began," wrote the weather service in its latest report.
MeteoSwiss clarifies
MeteoSwiss explains the current heat in its blog. It is becoming more frequent and increasingly intense. Due to climate change, this could also become the norm.
According to MeteoSwiss, this is currently a "positive high pressure anomaly". They add: "This constellation is characteristic of a persistent high pressure block, which favors stable, dry and largely sunny conditions. The persistent high geopotential heights indicate that this situation could continue for several days, probably until early June."
Information threshold for ozone could be exceeded
In France, the "Central Laboratory for Air Quality Monitoring" (LCSQA) warns that the information threshold for ozone could be exceeded on Tuesday in the entire Île-de-France region and the Rhone Valley.
The information threshold for ozone is a warning value for air quality. In France - as in the entire EU - this value is 180 micrograms of ozone per cubic meter of air on average over one hour.
And this is likely to be exceeded on Tuesday, which could lead to respiratory or heart complaints, especially among vulnerable population groups (elderly people, pregnant women, infants and young children), wrote "Airparif", an agency of the French Ministry of the Environment, in a statement.
According to the air quality technology company "IQAir", the concentration of particulate matter in Switzerland is currently 1.9 times the annual WHO limit.
The pollen load is also very high, MeteoSwiss emphasizes: "The rain has dampened the pollen concentration in the air, but has encouraged the growth of the grass. This is a particularly difficult time for people with a grass pollen allergy: mature plants, dry weather and heat - everything that is needed for the pollen to swirl through the air in abundance. There is also sorrel and plantain pollen in the air. The flowering of the lime tree in the lowlands, the green alder in the Alps and the palm tree, which is mainly found in Ticino, should also be noted."
