Second warmest October in Switzerland since measurements began
Published: Monday, Oct 30th 2023, 14:20
Updated At: Tuesday, Oct 31st 2023, 00:53
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After the warmest September, Switzerland 2023 recorded the second warmest October since measurements began in 1864. The first half of the month was exceedingly warm with persistent fine weather. Regionally, there was clearly the warmest 14-day period in an October.
October reached a national average temperature of 9.8 degrees, Meteoschweiz, the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, announced Monday. That's 3.1 degrees above the 1991 to 2020 norm. The October record of 10.4 degrees dates back to 2022.
In Lugano TI the month was the warmest ever measured with 2.8 degrees above the norm. Altdorf reached the record again with 2.9 degrees warmth surplus of October 2006. At several locations with over 100 years of measurements, October 2023 fell just short of the previous record. Since the pre-industrial period 1871 to 1900, October became 2.7 degrees warmer by 2023.
In the first 13 days of October, 38 locations spread all over Switzerland registered temperature records. In many places there were summer days with over 25 degrees. Basel-Binningen alone recorded nine such days, Bern-Zollikofen five. Comprovasco TI measured the highest temperature with 29.4 degrees on October 8.
The first half of the month was practically without precipitation apart from a cold front with precipitation on October 3. Rain and snow from 1700 meters above sea level fell on October 14 and 15.
Humid air brought abundant precipitation to western Switzerland and the southern side of the Alps from October 19 to 21. In the rest of Switzerland, the 20th and 21st were wet. After October 22, changeable weather with partly strong west to southwest winds set in. The Föhn swept through the valleys on the northern side of the Alps at the end of the month.
©Keystone/SDA
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