Increased risk of damage to crops due to late frost
Published: Sunday, Apr 21st 2024, 11:00
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The risk of damage to fruit trees and vineyards due to late frost has increased. As a result of climate change, winters are becoming milder and milder, causing nature to wake up earlier and extending the growing season.
One of the mildest winters on record and the exceptionally mild spring are having an impact on nature, as the private weather service Meteonews writes on its website on Sunday. As in recent years, nature has woken up very early and is currently two to four weeks ahead.
Frost is to be expected directly on the ground in the coming days, which is why crops close to the ground should continue to be protected, it said. However, there are no signs of a night with clearly negative temperatures at two meters above the ground, which in turn is positive for fruit trees and vineyards. Frost damage should therefore be limited. This is anything but a matter of course, as a clear night would have been enough for temperatures well below zero with the cool air mass that had flowed in.
It continues to snow
In the last 48 hours, up to half a meter of fresh snow has fallen in some places, for example on the Rigi-Scheidegg at 1650 meters. A lot more is also expected on Sunday, as Meteonews writes on X. According to SRF Meteo, the snow line is at 500 meters, but in some places it is also snowing in the lowlands.
The current weather conditions are also leading to a considerable avalanche risk in Valais, central Switzerland and south-eastern Switzerland, according to the avalanche bulletin from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF). Spontaneous and even large avalanches are possible. Traffic routes may also be affected in isolated cases.
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