Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
The summer of 2026 is officially over, and the figures show that it was the hottest on record in Switzerland.
Summer is followed by September, which is also a record-breaking month – but in a different category: no other month sees more children born. You can find out why in today’s briefing.
Warm regards from Bern
It’s now official: Switzerland has experienced its hottest summer since records began. And such high temperatures are no longer an anomaly.
Today, I reached for my down jacket for the first time as I left the house early this morning. Yet just two days ago, temperatures were still reaching 30°C, and neither people nor nature are likely to forget this summer’s heat any time soon.
Now the data confirms it: this summer was the hottest in Switzerland since records began. The months of June, July and August exceeded the previous record set in 2003 by 0.4°C. On July 30, Basel-Binningen recorded a maximum of 39.7°C – the highest ever measured north of the Alps. The national average temperature was 17.2°C – including night-time temperatures. In many places, there were more tropical nights and hot days than ever before.
Records were also broken outside Switzerland: August was the hottest on record worldwide. The data also show how summers are getting hotter. Since 2015, there has not been a single summer in Western Europe that was cooler than the average for the 1991–2020 reference period.
A levy on foreign workers is intended to give preference to locals. Surprisingly, the Swiss People’s Party is not keen on the idea.
One might think that a measure favouring domestic workers would meet with the Swiss People’s Party’s approval. Yet the exact opposite is the case. As the Tages-Anzeiger reports, the party is sharply criticising the proposed immigration levy.
The levy would work as follows: if an employer recruits staff from abroad, they would have to pay between CHF5,000 and CHF50,000 ($6,146 and $61,464). According to the Tages-Anzeiger, the idea has been circulating in federal circles in Bern since the adoption of the Mass Immigration Initiative in 2014. Now, Justice Minister Beat Jans has recommended the adoption of two motions calling for such a levy.
But it is not quite that simple. People who immigrate to Switzerland to work come mainly from the EU. And due to the free movement of persons, they cannot simply be subject to such a levy. That leaves workers from third countries – last year, there were 4,300 such cases. For the Swiss People’s Party, Jans’ recommendation is a “diversionary tactic” that would affect only a very small group of people and is intended to distract attention from the planned expansion of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, according to parliamentary group leader Thomas Aeschi.
A Swiss cross on shoes from Asia? Since this year, this has been permitted under certain conditions. Yet the so-called ‘Lex On’ remains controversial – even within the government.
On shoes have been popular worldwide, not least since Roger Federer became involved in the company. And since this March, they have been allowed to boast yet another mark of quality that goes down well around the globe: a Swiss cross. Even though the shoes are manufactured in Asia. This has drawn criticism from other Swiss companies, which fear it will water down the “Swissness” rules and weaken the Swiss brand.
Two parliamentary motions called for the decision to be reversed, but the Federal Council intends to stand by it. As research by CH Media shows, resistance came, of all places, from Economics Minister Guy Parmelin. This is noteworthy because the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which falls under his department, is said to have previously pushed for a relaxation of the Swissness rules.
However, agriculture also falls under the remit of the same department. As the Aargauer Zeitung reports, the Swiss cross can be a decisive factor for cheese, chocolate and other foodstuffs. The dispute over the cross is therefore taking place not only between businesses and the state, but also within the government itself.
September is the month with the highest number of births in Switzerland. This has something to do with Christmas – but that’s not the only reason.
Did you know that most children in Switzerland are born in September? September 25 is the day with the highest number of births in the year, as the Aargauer Zeitung reports today. The reason, as you’ve probably already guessed, is the Advent season and festive holidays some 38 weeks earlier.
However, the romantic Christmas season – or perhaps the easing of stress once the family has left again after the festivities – is not the only explanation. “There’s also a biological explanation,” says demographer Laura Bernardi. Winter is better for conception, as heat affects both women’s ovulation and men’s sperm quality.
Switzerland isn’t alone in this: September is now the month with the highest number of births in many Western countries. Before the 1970s, however, most children in Switzerland were born in spring. Perhaps this was because people were well nourished in summer and therefore more fertile, or because children were conceived soon after weddings, which usually took place in summer.
Translated from German, sub-edited by Alexandra MV Andrist/ac
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