Every summer is the worst, and the same refrain follows. Here is why cities such as Zurich overheat, and what can be done

Every summer arrives with the same refrain: this one is the worst. Then the heat fades from public memory. The latest record-breaking season will likely meet the same fate, even though Switzerland’s recent summers have repeatedly ranked among its hottest ever recorded.

In the political aftermath of this summer, Albert Rösti has become the target of climate-policy criticism. Yet the commentary argues that one point he made deserves attention: the failure to adapt is not his alone. Zurich’s Sechseläutenplatz, redesigned only 12 years ago, turned into an “infernal frying pan” in July, an example of how public spaces are still built as if cold winters were the main problem.

Temperatures at measuring stations in the canton of Zurich reached all-time highs of 38 degrees Celsius or more. Downtown Zurich recorded more than 30 tropical nights, when temperatures stayed above 20 degrees. The heat was not limited to densely built areas. Hörnli, an excursion summit at 1,133 meters above sea level, recorded hot days of up to 32 degrees.

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infernal frying pan

A study by the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences found that rural communities do not face the same urban heat-island effects as cities, but they still experience “significant heat stress.” The conclusion is broad: everyone is affected.

The commentary rejects moral appeals as a sufficient response and calls for closer attention to the causes of weak climate adaptation. It argues that politicians and developers have reacted too slowly, even in Zurich, a city governed by a red-green coalition that presents climate protection as a priority. The article’s supplied text ends while describing other recently built public squares as similarly inadequate.

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significant heat stress