BERN / GENEVA / ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Temperatures will climb Friday and Saturday, with highs of 35 and 36C expected throughout the country by Sunday, continuing until at least Tuesday and with no rain in sight, according to the national weather service, Meteoswiss. Water your garden this evening, before the heat sets in, and pull out the sun cream for the beaches or mountain hiking paths. Temperatures tend to be 5C cooler at 1,000 metres than on the plain.
A hot second half of August is not uncommon, with temperatures over 30C in 2011, 2009, 2003 and 2001, although this was less common in the 1980s and 1990s in Switzerland. The hottest August temperature on record was 38.5C in Basel in 2003.
Safety reminder: two accidents this week have involved young children, who need close watching in summer weather, with the death of a two-year-old who slipped into the family pool in Fully and a one-month-old baby taken to hospital after being left in a locked car in the sun.
