Weather in Switzerland

Experienced hikers, especially those who are fond of mountaineering and camping, know that good weather is extremely important for a successful traveling. They always consult the forecast before packing rucksacks, and it is wise, because the weather can change very quickly and unexpectedly. If you travel Switzerland, you should remember that, although it has a moderate climate, the weather reflects all its geographical diversity and is very changeable. Some maps of Switzerland contain the information on the weather in one or another region.

In Switzerland the temperature and the amount of rainfalls depend on the season as well as on the altitude. Due to the Alps which are the natural barrier, in winter the weather in the south is much milder resulting in sub-tropical vegetation. The average temperature is from +18 to +28 degrees in summer and from -2 to +7 in winter. However scientists expect the deterioration of weather conditions because of the changes in climate. The most pessimistic experts predict floods, avalanches and landslides.

As Peter Binder, head of research at Switzerland's weather service - MeteoSwiss says, "the nature behaves in a fundamentally chaotic way" meaning that weather forecasts can't be completely accurate, and should be treated like no more than well-founded assumptions. Swiss meteorologists had to lead a real struggle for acceptance. The popular idiom "unpredictable as weather" casted doubt on the weather service itself. Fortunately today the science has made a considerable leap forward and forecasts have achieved 85% of accuracy, which lightens the work of farmers and many other people. Nowadays, thanks to meteo services and to Internet developing, in order to know the forecast, a traveler just has to click the necessary region and receives all the data. So moving around Switzerland, make sure that the weather will be favorable to your plans.