Southern Switzerland’s heat wave alert escalated to high risk

Switzerland expanded its high-risk heat wave warning to southern regions on Wednesday as soaring temperatures continue to affect large parts of the country.

The heat wave danger level was raised from 3 to 4 across much of southern canton Ticino, with the level-4 alert already covering the central Swiss Plateau region and French-speaking Switzerland since Tuesday, Swissinfo reported.

The level-4 warning, which indicates a “high risk” heat wave, has spread to broad areas across Switzerland.

According to national weather service MeteoSwiss, level 4 conditions are met when daytime temperatures exceed 27C (80.6F) for at least three consecutive days, with little or no nighttime cooling.

Temperatures had already climbed above 30C (86F) in several areas by Wednesday morning, with Wynau in canton Bern recording 31.1C (88F) and Basel-Binningen reaching 30C (86F).

The persistent heat is also expected to maintain pressure on the country’s fire risk situation, with much of Switzerland remaining under level 3, or in “considerable danger,” for wildfires.