Climate Change: Freezing point climbs new altitude record at 5,298 m in Switzerland

New Delhi: Switzerland has a new altitude record for the freezing point of 5,298 m (17,381 feet) as the country has been experiencing sweltering hot weather over the past few weeks.

The freezing level has been measured by a Meteo-Suisse weather balloon above Payerne in the western canton of Vaud.

The previous record was 5,184 metres, set on July 25, 2022.

Speaking in Geneva, WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said that a new altitude record for the freezing point had been set a day earlier, climbing to 5,298 metres (17,381 feet), well above Europe’s very highest peaks including Mont Blanc, at 4,811 metres (15,784 feet).

As per WMO, the new freezing point is 115 metres above the previous record of 25 July 2022 and the highest since measurements began in 1954.

Switzerland has been experiencing sweltering hot weather over the past week. MeteoSwiss recorded temperatures above 35°C on Sunday afternoon.

“The impact of this heat on glaciers is playing out before our eyes,” she said. “The freezing level in the glaciers, [and] the disappearance of snow was dramatic last year. Unfortunately, with this latest heatwave, that trend is continuing.”

Meanwhile, large parts of Switzerland are on level three amber alert or the top-level red alert until Thursday, the WMO spokesperson said.

Temperatures in much of the southern half of France are forecast to be “above 37°C” on Tuesday, “reaching a peak of 40°C to 42°C in the Drome region.

Ms. Nullis warned that there were also red alerts in parts of Italy, Croatia and Portugal and widespread amber heat alerts in neighbouring countries.

As per the WMO’s statistics from last summer showed that more than 61,000 people had died from heat-related causes in 35 European countries during the summer months last year.

The impact of extreme temperatures on glaciers is under investigation, but the effects of the heatwave are clear, with snow cover now present only at the highest elevations in Switzerland, according to WMO.

The UN agency defines heatwaves as “a period of statistically unusual hot weather persisting for a number of days and nights”. The current baseline used to gauge how extreme conditions are is the 30-year period from 1991 to 2020.