Swiss Alps sees 5th hottest summer since 1864

GENEVA

The Swiss Alps is currently experiencing its fifth hottest summer in both the northern and southern regions, with temperatures reaching the highest levels on record since monitoring began in 1864, said the Swiss meteorology authority on Monday.

Noting that August 2023 is recorded as the second hottest month, after July 2023, precipitation remained low in French-speaking Switzerland, according to a statement released by MeteoSwiss, the Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology.

In Valais, the south and eastern Switzerland, precipitation was close to or slightly above average following bad weather at the end of August. The statement said, "On a global average, the boreal summer of 2023 was by far the hottest in the Copernicus dataset."

According to the MeteoSwiss, the global average for August reached 16.82°C (62.27°F), 0.71°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average and 0.31°C warmer than August 2016, the warmest ever recorded.

August 2023 is estimated to have been about 1.5°C warmer than the pre-industrial average of 1850-1900. Temperatures in most parts of Europe were above average in the last 30 years, with massive heatwaves spreading across Portugal, France and Italy.

Temperatures in Australia, South Americas and parts of Antarctica were recorded as above average, and heatwaves affected several regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including southern Europe, the south of the US and Japan.

MeteoSwiss's statement also noted that temperatures were above average in Türkiye, Eastern Europe and southern New Zealand.