Water levels in many rivers and lakes on the Plateau have reached record lows.
Keystone-SDA
Despite the recent rainfall, the spectre of drought continues to hang over Switzerland. Water levels in many rivers and lakes on the Swiss Plateau have reached record lows.
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“The rainfall has been merely ‘a drop in the ocean’,” says hydrologist Manuela Brunner of the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in a statement on Friday. The situation in Alpine rivers is slightly better than on the Swiss Plateau, but even there, water levels are below the long-term average.
According to Brunner, the main causes of the persistent drought are the extremely dry months of April and May and a very thin snowpack in the Alps. Normally at this time of year, Switzerland is in the flood season, with heavy rainfall and the snowmelt reaching its peak. This year, the situation is different. In the Dischma Valley, near Davos in eastern Switzerland, the snow cover is, for example, half as thick as the long-term average.
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Should Switzerland prepare for a severe drought this summer?
According to the government’s forecasts, the drought is set to worsen further over the coming week. Water levels are expected to fall, and low river levels are likely to become more severe, particularly on the Swiss Plateau.
Soil moisture deficits are also set to increase in the Jura and on the Swiss Plateau. At regional level, groundwater levels are already ranging from slightly to extremely low.
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Adapted from Italian by AI/ts
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