Switzerland Today
Greetings from Zurich!
Switzerland is bracing itself for water shortages this summer but at least the good folk of Brienz/Brinzauls can return home after a rockslide scare.
In the news: Swiss aid for Ukraine schools, anti-wolf funds run dry and inflation cools.
- Switzerland has pledged CHF5.5 million to help renovate damaged schools in Ukraine.
- A fund designed to help farmers protect their sheep from wolves has nearly run out of money halfway through the year.
- Inflation for June fell to 1.7% year-on-year, which is in the central bank’s comfort zone.
- UBS bank is on a recruitment drive for wealth managers in the United States.
Water scarcity forecast
Following a prolonged wet spring, Switzerland is nervous about predicted water shortages in the summer months.
Freight ships on the Rhine have already started reducing their cargoes to make sure they can navigate the river safely.
The situation is not yet critical but navigators are wary of a repeat of last year when Rhine water levels dipped alarmingly.
Switzerland only imports around 7% of its goods via the Rhine, but these include heating oil and fertilisers for agriculture.
Elsewhere, some regions have started to crack down on excessive water usage. Nyon, for example, has implemented a partial hosepipe ban.
Geneva has set up a water committee to monitor groundwater levels in case of a hot, dry summer.
Make sure you keep up with SWI swissinfo’s series of articles on managing Switzerland’s reserves of blue gold.
Rockslide threat averted
The residents of the small canton Graubünden village of Brienz/Brinzauls were able to return to their homes en masse from Monday as the rockslide alert was downgraded from orange to yellow.
The 84 people have endured a wait lasting several weeks as a part of the mountain that sits above the village showed signs of collapsing.
An estimated 1.5 million cubic metres of rock slid down the mountainside, narrowly avoiding the village, on June 16.
Towards the end of June some people were allowed back for limited periods, but now the entire population can enjoy their own homes.
But the danger has not been completely averted. Some four million cubic metres of rock on the mountain is still considered unstable.
The local authorities say they are standing by to order another evacuation if the situation worsens.
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