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Climate Zurich

Module 1 of 5

Zurich's Climate: Today and Tomorrow

How much warmer Zurich has become — and what a 1.5 °C or 3 °C world would mean.

  • 12 min read
  • 4 sections
  • 6-question quiz

Key message

Switzerland is warming about twice as fast as the global average. Zurich's annual mean temperature has risen by about 2.8 °C since the late 1800s, and the number of hot days has more than quadrupled since 1961–1990. How much more warming follows depends on global emissions.

Before you start

Learning objectives

After this module you can:

  1. 1State how much the world, Switzerland and Zurich have warmed since pre-industrial times.
  2. 2Explain why Switzerland warms faster than the global average.
  3. 3Read the Zurich warming stripes and describe the trend in hot days and tropical nights.
  4. 4Explain the "global warming levels" approach of the Climate CH2025 scenarios and what a 1.5 °C versus a 3 °C world means for Zurich.

1. The global picture

  • The IPCC (Sixth Assessment Report, 2021–2023) found that global surface temperature in 2011–2020 was about 1.1 °C above 1850–1900. Land warmed more (about 1.6 °C) than the ocean (about 0.9 °C).
  • Warming has continued: by 2024, global warming reached about 1.3–1.4 °C. 2024 was the first calendar year above 1.5 °C (+1.60 °C, Copernicus ERA5), and 2023–2025 was the first three-year period averaging above 1.5 °C.
  • The IPCC states unequivocally that human influence — mainly burning fossil fuels — has warmed the climate.

Concept

A single year above 1.5 °C does not mean the Paris Agreement limit is breached. The limit refers to a 20-year average. But the trend shows how close we are.

2. Switzerland: twice the global rate

Switzerland is now about 2.9 °C warmer than pre-industrial (1871–1900), roughly twice the global average (MeteoSwiss).

Why so fast?

  • Land warms faster than oceans, and Switzerland is far from any ocean.
  • Less snow means darker ground that absorbs more sunlight (snow–albedo feedback).
  • Changes in weather patterns and cleaner air (fewer aerosols since the 1980s) also contributed.

Every decade since the 1960s has been warmer than the one before. The four warmest years on record in Switzerland are 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

3. Zurich in numbers

MeteoSwiss has measured temperature at Zurich-Fluntern (556 m, on the slope above the university district) since 1864 — one of the longest series in Switzerland.

PeriodAnnual mean temperatureHot days (≥30 °C) per yearSummer days (≥25 °C) per year
1871–19007.8 °C——
1961–19908.5 °C2.630
1991–20209.8 °C8.545
2016–202510.7 °C12.157

Source: MeteoSwiss homogenised series (NBCN), Zürich/Fluntern. Hot-day counts start in 1961.

  • The warmest years at Fluntern: 2022 (11.5 °C), 2023 (11.4 °C), 2018 (11.1 °C), 2024 (11.0 °C).
  • Record hot summers: 2003 with 27 hot days, 2015 with 26.
  • Tropical nights (minimum ≥20 °C) are still rare at Fluntern (2.5 per year in 2016–2025), but Fluntern is a relatively cool hillside site. In the city centre they are far more common — see Module 2.
Zurich warming stripes 1864–2025 Each stripe is one year of annual mean temperature at Zurich-Fluntern, coloured by deviation from the 1961–1990 mean of 8.48 °C. Blue is cooler, red warmer. Zurich has warmed by about 2.8 °C since the 1800s Annual mean temperature at Zurich-Fluntern, 1864–2025. Each stripe is one year, coloured by its deviation from the 1961–1990 mean (8.5 °C). 1864: 6.7 °C 1865: 8.4 °C 1866: 8.8 °C 1867: 8.1 °C 1868: 9.2 °C 1869: 8.2 °C 1870: 7.4 °C 1871: 6.9 °C 1872: 8.8 °C 1873: 8.4 °C 1874: 7.9 °C 1875: 8.0 °C 1876: 8.3 °C 1877: 8.5 °C 1878: 7.6 °C 1879: 6.5 °C 1880: 8.4 °C 1881: 7.9 °C 1882: 8.1 °C 1883: 7.7 °C 1884: 8.4 °C 1885: 8.0 °C 1886: 8.1 °C 1887: 6.7 °C 1888: 7.0 °C 1889: 7.1 °C 1890: 6.8 °C 1891: 7.0 °C 1892: 8.0 °C 1893: 8.2 °C 1894: 8.0 °C 1895: 7.6 °C 1896: 7.3 °C 1897: 8.3 °C 1898: 8.6 °C 1899: 8.5 °C 1900: 8.6 °C 1901: 7.5 °C 1902: 7.7 °C 1903: 7.9 °C 1904: 8.6 °C 1905: 7.8 °C 1906: 8.1 °C 1907: 7.9 °C 1908: 7.5 °C 1909: 7.4 °C 1910: 8.0 °C 1911: 9.0 °C 1912: 7.8 °C 1913: 8.3 °C 1914: 7.8 °C 1915: 7.9 °C 1916: 8.4 °C 1917: 7.4 °C 1918: 8.1 °C 1919: 7.6 °C 1920: 8.6 °C 1921: 9.0 °C 1922: 7.6 °C 1923: 8.5 °C 1924: 7.6 °C 1925: 8.1 °C 1926: 8.6 °C 1927: 8.3 °C 1928: 9.0 °C 1929: 7.9 °C 1930: 8.8 °C 1931: 7.4 °C 1932: 7.8 °C 1933: 7.6 °C 1934: 8.9 °C 1935: 8.2 °C 1936: 8.4 °C 1937: 8.6 °C 1938: 8.2 °C 1939: 7.9 °C 1940: 7.1 °C 1941: 7.4 °C 1942: 7.9 °C 1943: 9.2 °C 1944: 8.2 °C 1945: 9.0 °C 1946: 8.6 °C 1947: 9.4 °C 1948: 8.9 °C 1949: 9.4 °C 1950: 9.0 °C 1951: 8.6 °C 1952: 8.6 °C 1953: 8.5 °C 1954: 8.0 °C 1955: 8.1 °C 1956: 7.1 °C 1957: 8.6 °C 1958: 8.6 °C 1959: 9.2 °C 1960: 8.6 °C 1961: 9.5 °C 1962: 7.6 °C 1963: 7.4 °C 1964: 8.5 °C 1965: 7.6 °C 1966: 8.7 °C 1967: 8.7 °C 1968: 8.2 °C 1969: 8.0 °C 1970: 7.9 °C 1971: 8.3 °C 1972: 7.9 °C 1973: 8.0 °C 1974: 8.9 °C 1975: 8.6 °C 1976: 8.6 °C 1977: 8.9 °C 1978: 7.9 °C 1979: 8.5 °C 1980: 7.9 °C 1981: 8.6 °C 1982: 9.2 °C 1983: 9.3 °C 1984: 8.3 °C 1985: 8.2 °C 1986: 8.4 °C 1987: 8.3 °C 1988: 9.4 °C 1989: 9.4 °C 1990: 9.7 °C 1991: 8.9 °C 1992: 9.5 °C 1993: 9.1 °C 1994: 10.5 °C 1995: 9.2 °C 1996: 8.1 °C 1997: 9.4 °C 1998: 9.5 °C 1999: 9.4 °C 2000: 10.2 °C 2001: 9.4 °C 2002: 10.2 °C 2003: 10.1 °C 2004: 9.5 °C 2005: 9.3 °C 2006: 9.8 °C 2007: 10.1 °C 2008: 9.6 °C 2009: 9.9 °C 2010: 8.8 °C 2011: 10.5 °C 2012: 9.7 °C 2013: 9.1 °C 2014: 10.6 °C 2015: 10.6 °C 2016: 9.9 °C 2017: 10.2 °C 2018: 11.1 °C 2019: 10.5 °C 2020: 10.9 °C 2021: 9.6 °C 2022: 11.5 °C 2023: 11.4 °C 2024: 11.0 °C 2025: 10.6 °C 1864 1900 1950 2000 2025 Cooler Warmer 7.8 → 10.7 °C Annual mean: 1871–1900 vs 2016–2025 2.6 → 12.1 Hot days ≥30 °C per year: 1961–90 vs 2016–25 11.5 °C Warmest year on record: 2022 Data: MeteoSwiss, homogenised NBCN series, station Zürich/Fluntern (SMA). Design after Ed Hawkins’ #ShowYourStripes.
V1Each stripe is one year from 1864 to 2025, coloured from blue (cooler) to red (warmer). The shift to red since the late 1980s is unmistakable. Full size (opens V1 in a new tab)

Explore the data

Zurich-Fluntern, 1864–2025: annual mean temperature (°C)

67891011121875190019251950197520002025

1961–1990 mean: 8.5 °C

Source: MeteoSwiss homogenised series (NBCN), Zürich/Fluntern. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys to read single years.

Show data as a table
YearMean temp. (°C)Hot days ≥30 °CTropical nights ≥20 °C
202510.6144
202411.0110
202311.4144
202211.5163
20219.650
202010.991
201910.5154
201811.1163
201710.2136
20169.980
201510.6269
201410.650
20139.1112
20129.760
201110.580
20108.890
20099.960
20089.630
200710.120
20069.8161
20059.391
20049.500
200310.1271
200210.271
20019.420
200010.230
19999.420
19989.5130
19979.400
19968.110
19959.250
199410.5110
19939.120
19929.5141
19918.960
19909.770
19899.410
19889.410
19878.320
19868.410
19858.240
19848.360
19839.3122
19829.210
19818.600
19807.910
19798.510
19787.900
19778.900
19768.670
19758.610
19748.930
19738.000
19727.910
19718.340
19707.910
19698.010
19688.211
19678.750
19668.720
19657.620
19648.570
19637.410
19627.640
19619.520
19608.600
19599.220
19588.6——
19578.6——
19567.1——
19558.1——
19548.0——
19538.5——
19528.6——
19518.6——
19509.0——
19499.4——
19488.9——
19479.4——
19468.6——
19459.0——
19448.2——
19439.2——
19427.9——
19417.4——
19407.1——
19397.9——
19388.2——
19378.6——
19368.4——
19358.2——
19348.9——
19337.6——
19327.8——
19317.4——
19308.8——
19297.9——
19289.0——
19278.3——
19268.6——
19258.1——
19247.6——
19238.5——
19227.6——
19219.0——
19208.6——
19197.6——
19188.1——
19177.4——
19168.4——
19157.9——
19147.8——
19138.3——
19127.8——
19119.0——
19108.0——
19097.4——
19087.5——
19077.9——
19068.1——
19057.8——
19048.6——
19037.9——
19027.7——
19017.5——
19008.6——
18998.5——
18988.6——
18978.3——
18967.3——
18957.6——
18948.0——
18938.2——
18928.0——
18917.0——
18906.8——
18897.1——
18887.0——
18876.7——
18868.1——
18858.0——
18848.4——
18837.7——
18828.1——
18817.9——
18808.4——
18796.5——
18787.6——
18778.5——
18768.3——
18758.0——
18747.9——
18738.4——
18728.8——
18716.9——
18707.4——
18698.2——
18689.2——
18678.1——
18668.8——
18658.4——
18646.7——

Less snow and cold

Around 1900, the winter freezing level sat at about the height of Zurich (~420 m). In 1991–2020 it averaged about 900 m. Snowy winters in the city have become rare.

4. Tomorrow: the Climate CH2025 scenarios

In November 2025, MeteoSwiss and ETH Zurich published the new Swiss climate scenarios, Climate CH2025. Instead of fixed years, they describe Switzerland in worlds with 1.5 °C, 2 °C and 3 °C of global warming.

1.5 °C world3 °C world
When?Practically unavoidable, within 5–15 yearsAround 2065 under very high emissions; current policies point to ~3 °C by 2100
Swiss annual temperature vs pre-industrial+2.6 to 3.2 °C+4.3 to 5.7 °C
Summer temperature vs 1991–2020+0.5 to 1.9 °C+2.4 to 5.1 °C
Hottest day of the year vs 1991–2020+1.5 °C+4.4 °C
A once-in-50-years heatwave becomes…~2.6× more frequent~17× more frequent

For Zurich specifically:

  • In a 3 °C world, a record year like 2022 becomes a normal year.
  • Tropical nights in the city centre (Zürich-Kaserne) rise from about 8 per year (1991–2020) to about 41 per year.
  • A 10-year summer drought becomes three times as frequent and 44% drier.
  • Heavy rain intensifies (see Module 3), and snow at mid-elevations nearly disappears.

Did you know?

CH2025 is the first Swiss scenario set with a dedicated chapter on cities — because urban areas like Zurich will feel the heat most.

Recap

Summary

  • World: ~1.3–1.4 °C warmer; Switzerland: ~2.9 °C; Zurich-Fluntern: ~+2.8 °C from 1871–1900 to 2016–2025.

  • Hot days in Zurich: 2.6 per year (1961–1990) → 12.1 per year (2016–2025).

  • The future depends on emissions: a 3 °C world would make today's record summers normal.

Think it over

Reflect & discuss

Think about these questions or discuss them in class.

  1. 1Why do scientists now describe the future in "global warming levels" instead of years like 2050 or 2085?
  2. 2Fluntern sits on a cool hillside. Why is it still useful as a long-term reference station, and what does it miss?

Test yourself

Quiz

Module quiz · Part 1 of 2

Zurich's Climate and the Hot City

  • 6 questions
  • Up to 110 points
  • Streak bonus +5
  • Pass with 70%

You get instant feedback after each answer. This quiz is shared with Module 2 — pass every part to earn the “Climate Detective” badge.

Climate Detective

SourcesReferences (11)