Switzerland Today
Happy Halloween from Bern!
What horrifying sight are you dressing up as tonight to scare the neighbours? Your energy bill? Halloween has never really taken off in Switzerland. A couple of decades ago retailers, aiming to do to Halloween what they had already done to Christmas, Easter and Valentine’s Day, started stocking a range of themed tat. Fast-food restaurants probably also offer tie-ins. But it remains very low-key. Today, there might be the odd private fancy-dress party for kids, but it’s rare – at least in Bern – to be paid a visit by trick-or-treaters and even rarer to see ghoulish house decorations. Pumpkin sales no doubt go up, but it’s the pumpkin season, and as this article from our archives explains, pumpkin lanterns are an ancient Swiss custom.
In the news: The mercury hit 25.4°C in Chur (pictured), in eastern Switzerland, yesterday – the latest day ever recorded in the country with a summer temperature of more than 25°C.
- On Saturday MeteoSwiss reported that this October would go down as the warmest October since measurements began. It said temperatures in Switzerland were around 3.8°C warmer than average. October was when global warming was most noticeable, said Stefan Brönnimann, a climatologist at the University of Bern.
- Felix Auger-Aliassimewon the Swiss IndoorsExternal link tennis tournament in Basel yesterday. The 22-year-old Canadian shares a birthday with Swiss great Roger Federer, who had intended to return to tournament play at his hometown event but announced his retirement last month aged 41 because of persistent knee injuries. “I actually thought about him this morning, and thought how cool it would be if I win here, where he won ten times,” Auger-Aliassime said of Federer.
- Three-quarters of Swiss believe their country has a plastic problem, with a quarter seeing the problem as “massive”. They are particularly concerned about plastic pollution in the oceans and on beaches, according to a survey. The issue of plastic is of particular concern to the older generation, unlike most public climate debates, which are strongly driven by younger people.
More
The football World Cup kicks off in Qatar on November 20. Between now and then, Swiss expatriates tell us what it’s like to live and work in the Gulf State and describe the atmosphere.
Of Qatar’s three million residents, 219 are Swiss. Today we begin with Andreas Briner, a 53-year-old geologist, who has lived with his family in the capital, Doha (pictured), for six years. Briner tells us how preparations for the World Cup have changed life in Qatar, which has been heavily criticised for human rights abuses connected to the tournament. He also discusses social life as an expat and how the country generally solves problems by throwing money at them, for example flying in cows to get round a food blockade by its neighbours. However, as Briner says, “that’s a political issue and it’s advisable not to say too much about it in Qatar”.
While some – many – people have criticised the choice of Qatar as host and have talked of boycotting the tournament, Briner will be attending all three of Switzerland’s group games – against Cameroon on November 24, Brazil on November 28 and Serbia on December 2.
When it comes to studying extreme climates, why is polar research a priority? Two leading scientists share their experiences.
Some people may question the value of polar research when there are other problems closer to home. But what is happening in these remote regions has a knock-on effect all over the globe.
SWI swissinfo.ch invited two Swiss-based scientists – Julia Schmale and Francesca Pellicciotti – to discuss their experiences, including working on the sea ice and examining the largest glacier outside the north and south poles. They spoke to my colleague Susan Misicka in the latest episode of our new show Let’s Talk.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
