Switzerland must adapt to changing flood risks, warns Swiss hydrologist

Heavy rains and melting snow have triggered spectacular floods and deadly landslides in parts of the Swiss Alps. Unusually warm temperatures, most probably linked to the climate crisis, suggest the situation is changing and Switzerland needs to better adapt, says a Swiss expert. Check out our selection of newsletters. Subscribe here. In the past, the greatest risks of flooding used to be at the end of summer after the hot season, Frédéric Jordan, a Swiss hydrologist told Swiss public radio, RTS, on Monday. "In the last hundred years or so, heavy floods have typically occurred between August and October. However, if we look at the last 12 months, we had a major flood on the Rhône River on November 14, 2023 and one on June 21, 2024, which is quite new," he explained. + Read more: the deadliest landslides in Swiss history This change is "very probably" linked to climate change, he noted, and high temperatures are a factor that increases the risks. "In Zermatt, it was 14°C during the ...