Parmelin calls extreme Swiss drought a shock
Wednesday 19th August 2026 on 21:15 in
Switzerland
Swiss President and Agriculture Minister Guy Parmelin has described this summer’s heatwave and drought as a “shock”, while rejecting claims that the government failed to prepare for climate change, SRF reported.
Farmers are struggling with drought and a shortage of animal feed, while cities have experienced record temperatures. Parmelin said the heatwave was exceptional in both its duration and intensity, and that Switzerland must prepare for future dry periods that will become more frequent.
“One must speak of a shock this year,” Parmelin said in an interview with SRF. He expects the current drought to lead to more irrigation and water-storage projects. He said his home region had invested in diverting water from Lake Geneva for irrigation 30 years ago, with federal support.
Parmelin said periods of this kind of drought now occur every four or five years, much more often than in the past. The El Niño climate phenomenon could cause such events to become even more frequent, he said.
He argued that Switzerland must address both the immediate effects and the causes of climate change. As president, he said, he had experienced a year of extreme heat and drought in 2026, after floods affected the country during his previous presidential year in 2021.
“One year it is extreme heat, another year we have too much rainfall,” Parmelin said. He added that the issue required action from politicians, the public, insurers and researchers, and said the Federal Council was working to improve coordination.
Parmelin also defended the Federal Council’s decision to reject the financial-sector initiative, which sought to reduce Swiss financial institutions’ investments in climate-damaging projects. He said unilateral Swiss rules could drive investments to financial centres such as Singapore or London. International standards were needed, he said, to make climate action effective and competition between financial centres fair.
Asked what he does personally to protect the climate, Parmelin said he walks to and from work instead of driving. Including additional journeys between the Federal Palace and the Bernerhof, he walks up to four kilometres a day, saving carbon dioxide emissions while improving his health.