
Switzerland is bracing for yet another heatwave; new figures reveal where in Switzerland most EU nationals have settled; and more news in our Monday roundup.
It’s not over: Switzerland braces for yet another heatwave
At midday on Sunday, the federal meteorological institute MeteoSwiss has issued a level 3 (out of 4) warning for high heat risk across several Swiss regions this week.
The alert covers many areas of the Swiss Plateau, French-speaking cantons, Ticino, and Eastern Switzerland.
Temperature-wise, the 30C mark will be exceeded early this week. with highs of up to 34C reached in western parts of the country.
New figures reveal where in Switzerland most EU nationals have settled in 2025
Zurich leads by a wide margin: between January and December 2025, the state Secretariat for Migration (SEM) recorded 10,438 people moving to the city from the EU or EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein).
Geneva follows in the second place: 4,906 people from the same category settled there over the course of the year.
Lausanne is next (4,641 people), then Basel (4,205), and St. Gallen (1,909).
One more resort in the Swiss Alps suspends summer skiing
Since August 3rd, summer skiing on Zermatt’s Theodul Glacier is no longer allowed due to intense heatwaves, which have accelerated the melting process of the snowpack.
The same is now also true for another high-altitude Vaials resort: Saas-Fee has banned summer skiing starting today.
Local authorities said the hot temperatures have impacted snow on the glacier “to the point of not guaranteeing the safety of the slopes.”
READ MORE: Melting Swiss glaciers face worst case scenario
Man from Solothurn convicted for feeding his rabbits ravioli
From time to time, odd animal-related news is reported in Swiss media.
In this latest one, the man in question was fined 800 francs for animal cruelty – specifically, because his rabbits’ nutrition has not been well balanced.
Among the charges brought up against him was the fact that some of the rabbits’ fur was soiled and, to make matters even worse, he was allegedly feeding them ravioli – a practice described as “unsuitable.”
He was fined and reprimanded because carrot and cucumber sticks were missing from the rabbits’ diet.
READ MORE: Why does Switzerland have such strict animal rights laws compared to elsewhere?
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