RECORD TEMPERATURES IN THE ALPS

BERN, JULY 13 /SRNA/ - High temperatures have hit Switzerland, including the Alps, where new record temperatures were recorded today at several mountain locations.

In the Swiss canton of Valais, at an altitude of 3,571 metres above sea level, the temperature reached eight degrees Celsius. The previous record was set in 2009 and stood at 7.8 degrees, Swissinfo reported.

At Mount Säntis, located at an altitude of 2,501 metres above sea level, a temperature of 16.3 degrees Celsius was measured, breaking the previous record of 16.2 degrees set in 1949.

At the Great St Bernard Pass, the temperature reached 17.3 degrees, surpassing the previous record of 17.1 degrees recorded in 1869.

New record temperatures were recorded in the canton of Bern at an altitude of 1,980 metres above sea level, as well as in the cantons of Vaud, Uri, Neuchâtel and in the city of St. Gallen.

A high risk of forest fires currently exists in large parts of Switzerland, which is why a ban on lighting fires is in force in all cantons.