Swiss Glaciers Under Threat Again as Heatwave Drives Zero-Temperature Level to Record Altitude 

A team member of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology glaciologist and head of the Swiss measurement network “Glamos”, Matthias Huss, passes the Rhone Glacier covered by sheets near Goms, Switzerland, on June 16, 2023. (AP)
A team member of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology glaciologist and head of the Swiss measurement network “Glamos”, Matthias Huss, passes the Rhone Glacier covered by sheets near Goms, Switzerland, on June 16, 2023. (AP)
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Swiss Glaciers Under Threat Again as Heatwave Drives Zero-Temperature Level to Record Altitude 

A team member of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology glaciologist and head of the Swiss measurement network “Glamos”, Matthias Huss, passes the Rhone Glacier covered by sheets near Goms, Switzerland, on June 16, 2023. (AP)
A team member of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology glaciologist and head of the Swiss measurement network “Glamos”, Matthias Huss, passes the Rhone Glacier covered by sheets near Goms, Switzerland, on June 16, 2023. (AP)

The Swiss weather service said Monday a heatwave has driven the zero-degree Celsius level to its highest altitude since recordings on it in Switzerland began nearly 70 years ago, an ominous new sign for the country's vaunted glaciers.

MeteoSwiss says the zero-degree isotherm level reached 5,298 meters (17,381 feet) above sea level over Switzerland overnight Sunday to Monday. All of Switzerland's snow-capped Alpine peaks — the highest being the 4,634-meter (15,203-foot) Monte Rosa summit — had air temperatures over zero Celsius (32 F) where water freezes to ice, raising prospects of a thaw.

Even Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain along the Italian-French border at some 4,809 meters (15,800 feet), is affected, the weather agency said based on readings from its weather balloons.

The new high altitude eclipsed a previous record set in July 2022, a year that experts say was particularly devastating for the glaciers of Switzerland. Readings have been taken on the zero-degree altitude level since 1954.

“An exceptionally powerful anticyclone and warm air of subtropical origin are currently ensuring scorching weather over the country,” MeteoSwiss said on its website, adding that many measuring stations in Switzerland have set new temperature records in the second half of August.

MeteoSwiss meteorologist Mikhaël Schwander said it marked only the third time such readings had been tallied above 5,000 meters — and that the level was generally around 3,500 to 4,000 meters in a typical summer.

“With a zero-degree isotherm far above 5,000m (meters above sea level), all glaciers in the Alps are exposed to melt — up to their highest altitudes," said Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at the federal technical university in Zurich, ETHZ, in an email. “Such events are rare and detrimental to the glaciers’ health, as they live from snow being accumulated at high altitudes.”

"If such conditions persist in the longer term, glaciers are set to be lost irreversibly,” he said.

A Swiss study last year found that the country's 1,400-odd glaciers — the most in Europe — had lost more than half their total volume since the early 1930s, including a 12-percent decline over the previous six years alone.



Coffee Overtaking Tea Culture in the UK

“Fancy a brew?” is no longer as familiar as it once were as coffee has overtaken tea in the UK (Getty)
“Fancy a brew?” is no longer as familiar as it once were as coffee has overtaken tea in the UK (Getty)
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Coffee Overtaking Tea Culture in the UK

“Fancy a brew?” is no longer as familiar as it once were as coffee has overtaken tea in the UK (Getty)
“Fancy a brew?” is no longer as familiar as it once were as coffee has overtaken tea in the UK (Getty)

Discover the hidden gem of the UK's coffee culture, where vibrant independent cafes outshine the chains, offering a unique blend of flavors and atmospheres.

“Fancy a brew?” “I'll put the kettle on then.” Hearing those words are no longer as familiar as it once were as coffee has overtaken tea in the UK, The Daily Express newspaper reported on Monday.

It said grabbing a coffee either on the go or at a café is as part of British culture these days as it is in Italy.

But while every person has its favorite chain, be it Pret, Starbucks, Costa or Cafe Nero, nothing beats finding a decent independent coffee shop one can call home especially when it can seem high streets are dominated by the same chains.

So with the demand for coffee only growing, where is the best spot in the UK to find an independent coffee shop?

A study by Reviva Coffee reveals the UK city that is the hidden gem when it comes to thriving coffee culture.

And it probably isn't where you'd expect. In fact this county is synonymous with tea. Yorkshire Tea, to be precise.

However the study discovered the best UK city to find independent coffee shops is in the Yorkshire city of Leeds. It has a staggering 584 coffee shops, of which 86.3% are independent, and just under 14% are chains.

Placing second is Edinburgh. Whether you’re a coffee connoisseur or just needing a cosy pit stop, Edinburgh has you covered with its outstanding coffee scene with 560 shops, 85% of which are independents.

In third for best UK cities for independent coffee shops is Bristol which has 347 coffee shops, 86.3% of which are independent.