The feeling of an Indian summer was confirmed by the weather watchers from MeteoSwiss, who said the month had surpassed everything recorded since 1864.
The situation was driven largely by warm winds arriving from the south and southwest, pushing the average national October temperature 3.7°C above the norm for the period 1991-2020. On Friday, a temperature of 27.4°C was reported in canton Jura in the west of the country; normally it’s only about 12°C at this time of year, meteorologists said.
It’s too soon to speak about the impact of this on trees and vegetation, according to the Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). But weather experts still noted that many autumn leaves are moving more slowly through their colour change to reach the most intense red or orange phase.
It’s just the latest sign of an extreme weather period: as in other countries, recent winters, springs, and summers have seen record or near-record high temperature levels in Switzerland.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Switzerland is Europe’s most innovative country, EU study finds
This content was published on
An annual analysis by the European Commission notes that the Swiss score dropped slightly this year, but not enough to cost it its top continental spot.
This content was published on
Following a drop already in 2023, the harvest volume again declined last year, as the importance of wood chips for energy production has increased.
Women’s Euro 2025 has been largely peaceful so far
This content was published on
After two weeks of football fever in various Swiss host cities, no major incidents have been reported so far, police say.
Planned solar park at Bern airport scaled back after talks
This content was published on
The ground-mounted plant at Belpmoos Airport outside the Swiss capital will be smaller than originally planned, the parties involved said on Tuesday.
Legal action filed against Swiss purchase of Israeli drones
This content was published on
Legal action aims to put an end to the delivery of the six Elbit reconnaissance drones already plagued by delays and setbacks.
Higher direct payments fail to curb scrub encroachment on alpine pastures
This content was published on
The scrub encroachment on Swiss alpine pastures leads to the loss of grassland and damages the typical landscape. It is also responsible for the decline in biodiversity. Despite higher direct payments, the bushes continue to spread.
Head of Swiss financial regulator’s Banks division quits
This content was published on
Thomas Hirschi, head of the Banks division of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA will leave at the end of August.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.