Swiss Heatwave Prompts Top-Tier Alerts, Calls For School Protections

GENEVA, June 24 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Swiss authorities have raised heatwave warnings to the second-highest level in parts of the country, as temperatures are expected to remain exceptionally high through next week, while teachers are calling for legally binding heat protection measures in schools, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

In a bulletin issued on Tuesday, the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss, said a severe multi-day heatwave had settled across Switzerland and was expected to continue until Monday.

Level 4 heat alerts, the second-highest warning category, are in effect for northwestern Switzerland, the Lake Geneva region, parts of the western plateau and central Valais until June 29. Additional regions, including Aargau, Schaffhausen, Solothurn and the Rhine Valley, are due to be upgraded from Level 3 to Level 4 on Thursday.

MeteoSwiss said daytime temperatures are expected to range between 34C and 37C (93F-99F) through Monday, while night-time temperatures will remain between 18C and 23C in many areas, intensifying the heat.

The agency said temperatures above 36C (97F) had already been recorded in parts of northern Switzerland and Alpine valleys in recent days.

Amid the prolonged heatwave, the Swiss Teachers' Federation has called on the federal government and cantonal authorities to establish legally binding minimum standards for heat protection in schools, according to Swissinfo.

The federation proposed a staged protection plan under which classes would continue normally up to 26C (79F) indoors, while schedules would be adjusted and lessons moved to cooler rooms at higher temperatures. Teaching should be suspended once classroom temperatures reach 30C (86F), it said.

The proposal comes as Switzerland no longer grants a legal entitlement to so-called "heat holidays" during periods of extreme temperatures.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU