Mercury equaled 1947 record, baths stormed


Geneva (awp / ats) – The heat record for the month of June – 36.9 degrees in 1947 in Basel – was equaled on Sunday in Switzerland in Beznau (AG). Record temperatures were also recorded in other places, after a tropical night. Public baths and swimming pools were stormed.

Following on from an already very hot Saturday, the heat wave affected almost the entire country on Sunday. The Rhône Valley in Valais, the Lake Geneva region and the Basel region were flooded with particularly scorching sun, often exceeding 35 degrees, according to data from MeteoSwiss, Meteonews and SRF Meteo.

In French-speaking Switzerland, 36.5 degrees were recorded in Neuchâtel, a value never reached in June in this city, 36.4 in Sion and 35.5 in Geneva, Meteonews reported late Sunday afternoon. Payerne (VD) also broke his record with 34.9 degrees.

The night from Saturday to Sunday was tropical. At 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, it was still 30 degrees in Geneva and Basel. Even if extreme temperatures tend to occur always earlier in the year, this scenario remains rare. The hottest period is most often between July 23 and August 23, when the mercury can exceed 40 degrees, as in 2003.

Crowded public baths and swimming pools

The shores of lakes, rivers and swimming pools naturally attracted a considerable number of strollers and swimmers during the weekend.

The Marzili public baths in Bern saw an influx of 15,000 visitors on Saturday and about as many on Sunday.

Les Bains des Pâquis in Geneva, on the right bank of Lake Geneva, received between 3,000 and 4,000 visitors on Saturday, and as many were expected on Sunday, an official told Keystone-ATS. However, this is not a record.

The swimming pool of Yverdon-les-Bains (VD) did not provide a precise figure but an eloquent comment: “It’s madness”, exclaimed an attendant. Similar findings on the side of the Nid-du-Crô swimming pool in Neuchâtel and those of Delémont or even at Geneva-Plage.

The Mythenquai lakeside facilities in Zurich were “full to bursting”, reception said, estimating the attendance at between 9,000 and 10,000 people.

The good weather and the heat will continue during the week, with scattered thunderstorms, but the temperatures should gradually decrease.

Many drownings

Reverse of the water rush, bathing accidents and drownings are to be deplored, causing at least six deaths.

In Chevroux (VD), a sexagenarian experienced a fatal accident in Lake Neuchâtel. The waters of Lake Geneva, between Villeneuve and Le Bouveret, carried away a septuagenarian who had descended from his boat to swim, before suddenly sinking.

Another septuagenarian was rescued dead from Lake Lugano on Saturday afternoon near Caslano (TI). Also in Ticino, a 14-year-old boy lost his life on Friday in the Maggia, near Tegna. He had jumped into the river and did not come to the surface.

A man in his 20s who had been missing since Thursday evening in Lake Sarnen (OW) was found dead on Friday by police divers.

In Bern, a 59-year-old man drowned in the Aare on Saturday evening while bathing near the bear pit. He suddenly got into trouble and was found dead downstream.

A 46-year-old man died on Friday evening in the Dreilinden swimming pool in St. Gallen. At the swimming pool in Reinach (BL), a seven-year-old boy was discovered unconscious in the water and taken to hospital by ambulance, while in Thurgau a 17-year-old young man had to be airlifted to the hospital. hospital after being injured while diving headfirst into Lake Nussbaumen.

ats/rp



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