Before the month has even come to a close, MeteoNews has confirmed that February 2024 will be the hottest in Switzerland since records began. With the weather being nearly five degrees celsius too hot for the time of year, forecasters have predicted that the mild conditions will continue into the spring due to climate change.

February 2024 the hottest on record in Switzerland

According to the data, so far February has been 4,9 degrees warmer than the 30-year average for the time of year. Excess temperatures rose above five degrees at the beginning of February, before declining slowly over the past week. MeteoNews noted that even if temperatures plummet at the end of the month, this February will be the hottest since records began in 1864. It is also on track to break the previous record in 1990 which saw excess temperatures of 4,1 degrees.

The weather was warmest in eastern Switzerland, with some cantons and cities seeing average temperatures six degrees higher than normal. Even in south and western areas, the coldest parts of the country this February, average temperatures were never less than three degrees too high.

Spring arrives early for plants in Switzerland

While people who work outside or want to cast away the winter blues early may be inclined to welcome the news, MeteoNews noted that the mild conditions have fooled the body clock of many plants. They noted that the first peach and apricot trees are flowering up to three weeks earlier than normal. 

This is bad news for farmers, as their flowers risk freezing if there is frost in March, which is likely. Hay fever sufferers will also not be great fans of the warmer climes, with pollen counts expected to rise significantly in the coming weeks.

While average rainfall has remained roughly the same in the alpine nation as a whole, it has varied dramatically by region. MeteoNews noted that it has been significantly too wet in Ticino, slightly too wet in the east and west, and too dry in central and northern areas.

Climate change means spring is expected to be very warm in Switzerland

Looking ahead, the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) predicted that, largely thanks to climate change, the warm conditions are set to continue into the spring. In their long-term forecast, the government predicted that average temperatures from March to May in German-speaking Switzerland will be above 10,4 degrees - bear in mind that the normal average is below 10 degrees.

For the Romande, forecasters predicted average temperatures of more than 11 degrees and more than 12,8 degrees in Ticino. They concluded that the chances of temperatures dropping below 9,8 degrees in German-speaking Switzerland over the next three months are around 10 percent.

Thumb image credit: YueStock / Shutterstock.com