People living abroad often imagine winter in Switzerland as it is portrayed on postcards: covered by a thick layer of snow. But is this really so?
Many older Swiss people remember days of their childhood, when there was abundant snow during the winter months, and they used to go sledding down the street and skating on frozen lakes.
If you are still hoping to do that in Switzerland during the cold months (that is, from December to March) and to find a winter wonderland everywhere you go, you may end up bitterly disappointed.
Like other countries, Switzerland too has fallen victim of climate change – namely, global warming – which means that, according to the official weather service MeteoSchweiz, “precipitation at the beginning and end of winter tends to fall more often as rain rather than snow.”
Of course, much will depend on where you go – to the high mountains or to the low altitudes.
Let’s look at the plains first
Typically, Swiss cities have seen little snow in the past years. While it may snow over several days, the temperatures are not cold enough in a sustained manner (that is, below 0C) to keep the snow from melting.
For instance, typical winter temperatures in Zurich, Basel, and other northern cantons range from around freezing point to about 7C, with average daily highs in the 4-6C.
In Geneva and Lausanne, that range is from about -2C to 5C.
These are typical temperatures across low-lying towns in all Swiss regions, with one notable exception: daytime temps in Ticino are slightly warmer – typically, 6C to 10C in its largest city, Lugano.
That is due to the its Mediterranean-influenced climate, situated south of the Alps, which protect the region from cold air that hits other parts of Switzerland.
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What about the weather in the Swiss Alps?
You have a much better chance of snow and low temperatures in the mountains, though that, too, is no longer a given everywhere you go.
“Fifty years ago, the zero-degree level sat at around 600 metres above sea level. Today, with winters becoming warmer, the level sits at around 850 metres,” MeteoSchweiz pointed out.
“The 250-m climb of the winter zero-degree level has meant that the depth and duration of the snow cover in the mountains have both reduced by a considerable amount, especially at medium altitudes.”
That is a huge problem for low-lying ski resorts, which no longer have sufficient snow cover to operate their ski lifts and attract winter sports enthusiasts.
And there are other victims of this situation as well: Swiss glaciers, which have been melting and receding at an alarming rate:
READ ALSO: Switzerland’s glaciers shrink by a quarter in just a decade
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However, high-altitude areas – typically, those at over 1,800 metres – still have sufficient (and sometimes even abundant) snow, and low temperatures as well.
Typically, they remain below, or just above, the zero-degree mark throughout the winter.
For instance, typical temperature in Zermatt in January is -6C to 2C; in Davos -9C to 0C, and in Verbier, -2C to 3C.
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Short days
Another thing about winter is that daylight hours are much shorter.
After the Daylight Savings Time ends (this year on October 26th) and clocks are turned back one hour, it it will be dark until about 7:30am or 8 am, and then again just after 5 pm.
So, to sum up, winters in most of Switzerland are not very snowy or very cold (depending on locations), with just a few hours of daylight.
