Spring 2023 was 1.5 °C hotter than norm in Switzerland

A paraglider on the Stanserhorn in central Switzerland, May 28, 2023. © Keystone / Urs Flueeler

While many Swiss may remember this spring for its gloomy, wet weather, meteorologists report that the average temperature was 1.5 °C warmer than the recent climate norm.

In the south of the country it was 2°C warmer than the average for the 1961-1990 period, reportedExternal link SRF Meteo.

The month of March was particularly warm with temperatures around 3°C hotter than the norm. On March 13, the mercury hit 23.4 C in Basel – a record.

+ Switzerland smashes January heat record north of Alps

North of the Alps, spring 2023 was generally a gloomy story with plenty of cloud and rain, said SRF Meteo.

Central and eastern Switzerland had not seen so much rain for decades. For example, record spring rainfall was recorded in canton Glarus (500 millimetres).

+ Swiss lakes are full again thanks to rainy season

By contrast, parts of canton Ticino in the south, such as the city of Lugano, were extremely dry.

SRF Meteo experts say reliable weather predictions for this summer can only be made at the end of June or the beginning of July.

+ Experts warn of drought this summer