Switzerland's Record-Breaking Summer By Numbers

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) This year's summer was the hottest and driest in Switzerland since measurements began in 1864. Only one national record remained unbroken. This content was published on September 14, 2026 - 09:00 7 minutes

I cover climate change and energy through reportages, articles, interviews and in-depth reports. I am interested in the impacts of global warming on everyday life and solutions for an emission-free planet. Passionate about travel and discovery, I studied biology and other natural sciences. I have been a journalist for SWI swissinfo for more than 20 years.

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Deutsch de Der Schweizer Rekordsommer 2026 in Zahlen Read more: Der Schweizer Rekordsommer 2026 in Z Français fr L'été suisse de tous les records: les chiffres clés Read more: L'été suisse de tous les records: les chiffres Italiano it L'estate svizzera da record: i numeri chiave Original Read more: L'estate svizzera da record: i numeri c

The summer of 2026 rewrote Switzerland's climate history. Average temperature, heat-alert days and tropical nights all exceeded those recorded during the famous“summer of the century” in 2003 – a season that had previously been an outlier. In addition, water levels in several of the country's major lakes fell to unprecedented seasonal lows.

Data from the final summer report of the Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss), published on September 10, illustrate just how exceptional the past few months have been. And climate scientists say this anomaly could become the norm if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced rapidly.

“With current global climate policies, we're heading towards a world in which every second summer will be hotter than this one,” Reto Knutti, Professor of Climate Physics at federal technology institute ETH Zurich, told the news portal WatsonExternal link.

>> What Switzerland needs to learn from earlier and longer heatwaves:

More More Climate adaptation What Switzerland needs to learn from earlier and longer heatwaves

This content was published on Jul 14, 2026 The exceptional heatwave in June highlighted the difficulties in coping with these new climatic extremes, says climatologist Sonia Seneviratne.

Read more: What Switzerland needs to learn from earlier and longer heat

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