Switzerland basks in record warmth

Switzerland enjoyed summer-like weather on Wednesday when temperatures soared to record heights for October.

The mercury from Payerne to Scuol, at opposite ends of the country, ranged from 27 degrees Celsius (80.6˚F) to 27.7 Celsius. Chur in canton Graubünden heated up to 28.4 Celsius, the warmest in the country.

Even mountain towns enjoyed a blast of heat. At 1,500m in Valais temperatures climbed to 23.3 degrees. At 1,300m in Adelboden in the Bernese Oberland temperatures climbed to 24.8 degrees, also a record. The national weather service, MeteoSwiss, said that was the warmest October day since 1966.

A balmy wind out of the south, the Föhn, spurred by a high-pressure system over Spain was largely responsible.

The warm pocket hardly touched canton Ticino in southern Switzerland, where temperatures were four to five degrees cooler than in the north.

Thursday should cool down, the weather service said. Highs would range from 16 in Neuchâtel to 22 in Chur, with a chance of rain nationwide.

swissinfo.ch and agencies