Latest news with #MeteoSwiss
Straits Times
01-07-2025
- Climate
- Straits Times
Norway's Euro players unbothered by heatwave as Swiss temperatures soar
BASEL - Norway's squad will be paying scant attention to the weather when the Women's European Championship begins on Wednesday, despite a decision by UEFA to allow fans to bring bottles of water to games due to a heatwave in Switzerland. Speaking at a press conference in a sweltering room at the St. Jakob-Park stadium ahead of her side's clash with their Swiss hosts on Wednesday evening, Norway coach Gemma Grainger said her side would not be hiding behind the conditions. "For me, the weather is just how it is - whether it's wind, rain, sun, it's not an excuse, it's just something that you have to get on with. It's the same with the pitch, with the stadium, so for both teams, it's exactly the same," she said. "Of course, we've had some good strategies to make sure that we can recover well, so that's all in place, but actually, tomorrow night the weather will not be on our minds, it'll be about enjoying this game and making sure that the team can perform." European soccer governing body UEFA is taking the warm weather seriously, with free sunscreen available in stations at the fan park in Basel and a relaxation of the rules around bringing water bottles into the stadiums. Earlier on Tuesday, UEFA said that the normally strict security rules would be relaxed to allow fans attending matches on the first two days (July 2 and 3) to bring a half-litre plastic or aluminium water bottle into the stadium, though no glass bottles will be allowed. The usual conditions attached to Euro 2025 tickets state that no "bottles, jugs or cans of any kind, as well as other objects made from plastic, glass or any other fragile materials" may be brought into any of the venues, with exceptions made for medical containers. According to meteorological service MeteoSwiss, the temperature in Basel is expected to reach 35 degrees ahead of Switzerland's opening game against Norway on Wednesday evening, with similar temperatures expected throughout the country. "We want you to feel safe during Women's EURO so you can enjoy your tournament experience to the max even when high temperatures hit," UEFA said in a statement on their website advising fans to stay in the shade and to keep themselves hydrated. UEFA competition rules also allow for cooling breaks during the games if temperatures are above 35 degrees Celsius, with referees also allowed to use their discretion. The four games that fans will be allowed to bring water bottles to are Iceland v Finland (July 2, Thun), Switzerland v Norway (July 2, Basel), Belgium v Italy (July 3, Sion) and Spain v Portugal (July 3, Bern). REUTERS
Straits Times
01-07-2025
- Climate
- Straits Times
UEFA to permit water bottles for Women's Euro fans as Swiss temperatures soar
BASEL - Fans will be allowed to bring bottles of water to the stadium for some of the games at the Women's European Championship, which gets underway on Wednesday, as a heatwave has sent temperatures in Switzerland to over 30 degrees Celsius (86°F). European soccer governing body UEFA said on Tuesday that the normally strict security rules would be relaxed to allow fans attending matches on the first two days (July 2 and 3) of Euro 2025 to bring a half-litre plastic or aluminium water bottle into the stadium. No glass bottles will be allowed. The usual conditions attached to Euro 2025 tickets state that no "bottles, jugs or cans of any kind, as well as other objects made from plastic, glass or any other fragile materials" may be brought into any of the stadiums, with exceptions made for medical containers. According to meteorological service MeteoSwiss, the temperature in Basel is expected to reach 35 degrees ahead of Switzerland's opening game against Norway on Wednesday evening, with similar temperatures expected throughout the country. "We want you to feel safe during Women's EURO so you can enjoy your tournament experience to the max even when high temperatures hit," UEFA said in a statement on their website advising fans to stay in the shade and to keep themselves hydrated. UEFA competition rules also allow for cooling breaks during the games if temperatures are above 35 degrees Celsius, with referees also allowed to use their discretion. The four games that fans will be allowed to bring water bottles to are Iceland v Finland (July 2, Thun), Switzerland v Norway (July 2, Basel), Belgium v Italy (July 3, Sion) and Spain v Portugal (July 3, Bern). REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
18-06-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
Longer exposure, more pollen: Climate change worsens allergies
Higher pollen concentrations as well as longer pollen seasons could make symptoms more severe. PHOTO: PIXABAY PARIS - Runny nose, itching eyes, worsening asthma symptoms – the effects of hay fever are nothing to sneeze at, experts say, warning of an 'explosion' of allergies as climate change lengthens and intensifies pollen seasons. The UN's World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has found that a shifting climate has already begun altering the production and distribution of pollen and spores. As winter frost thaws earlier and spring weather gets warmer, plants and trees flower earlier, extending the pollen season, numerous studies have shown. Air pollution can also increase people's sensitivity to allergens, while invasive species are spreading into new regions and causing fresh waves of allergies. More and more people, particularly in industrialised nations, have reported developing allergy symptoms in recent decades. Around a quarter of adults in Europe suffer from airborne allergies, including severe asthma, while the proportion among children is 30 to 40 per cent. That figure is expected to rise to half of Europeans by 2050, according to the World Health Organisation. 'We're in crisis because allergies are exploding,' said Ms Severine Fernandez, president of the French Allergists' Union. Whereas previously an allergic person would endure only what is commonly known as hay fever, albeit sometimes for years, 'now that person can become asthmatic after one or two years', Ms Fernandez said. Climate change affects allergy patients in multiple ways, according to a 2023 report by the WMO. Rising levels of carbon dioxide, one of the main heat-trapping gases produced by burning fossil fuels, boost plant growth, in turn increasing pollen production. Air pollution not only irritates the airways of people exposed, but it also causes stress to plants, which then produce more 'allergenic and irritant pollen'. Associate Professor Nicolas Visez, an aerobiologist at the University of Lille, said each plant species reacted differently to a variety of factors such as water availability, temperature and CO2 concentrations. Birch trees for example will wither as summers get hotter and drier, while the heat causes a proliferation of ragweed, a highly allergenic invasive plant. 'There's no doubt that climate change is having an effect,' Assoc Prof Visez said. In a study published in 2017, researchers projected that ragweed allergies would more than double in Europe by 2041-2060 as a result of climate change, raising the number of people affected from 33 million to 77 million. The authors suggested that higher pollen concentrations as well as longer pollen seasons could make symptoms more severe. Allergy action A Europe-wide 'AutoPollen' programme under development aims to provide real-time data on the distribution of pollen and fungal spores. In Switzerland, a tie-up with MeteoSwiss allows patients and doctors to match personal allergy profiles with maps of specific allergens throughout the country. In parts of France, the authorities have planted 'pollinariums', gardens packed with the main local allergen species. These provide information on the very first pollen released into the air so that people can start taking antihistamines and other protective measures in a timely manner. 'Hazelnuts have started to bloom as early as mid-December, which wasn't the case before,' said Ms Salome Pasquet, a botanist with the association behind the pollen gardens. 'That's really because we've had very mild winters, so flowering has come earlier,' she said. Some countries are taking an interventionist approach – cutting off the pollen at the source. In Japan, the government announced a plan in 2023 to combat allergies caused by the archipelago's many cedar trees, which includes felling cedars to replace them with species that produce less pollen. Countries in Europe are also more mindful of species in the environment, both native ones that have been planted and invasive newcomers like ragweed. Preference is given to species with a lower allergenic potential, such as maple or fruit trees. 'The idea is not to stop planting allergenic species,' Ms Pasquet said, but to be mindful of creating diversity and avoiding having 'places where there are rows of birch trees, as was the case a few years ago'. It was birch trees in a client's garden that originally set off symptoms for Mr Simon Barthelemy, an architect who lives near Paris. 'I had a major eye allergy, and it's been a recurring problem every year since,' he said. 'I'm on antihistamines, but if I don't take them I get itchy eyes, I'm very tired, I cough... I can't sleep at night.' AFP Find out more about climate change and how it could affect you on the ST microsite here.
