ZURICH - The director of MeteoSwiss warned on Monday that federal savings could land on the instruments forecasters use in a dangerous summer. Stefan Uhlenbrook told Blick that the 27th austerity package is hitting the office hard, and that there is little left to trim in a service he described as already lean.
The specific risk is the replacement of weather radars. Uhlenbrook said that if the radars are not renewed on time, forecasts become less accurate and damage can be greater. He said public safety is not directly in question, but operational risk has gone up. Severe-weather warnings are currently right more than 86 percent of the time. That is the number he does not want to spend.
Why this summer makes the warning concrete
July is not a theoretical season for MeteoSwiss. The government raised the drought alert in June, and city heat offices have already issued serious warnings. Those products depend on radar, models and people who still have to judge a storm the model has only half seen. Uhlenbrook said the office is automating where it can and wants more international cooperation. Automation does not replace a radar that is past its date.
What the cuts do not decide today
Monday's interview is not the budget vote. It is the office saying, in public, which line item matters when parliament looks for a number. Readers who want the water side of the same summer can start with the June drought alert.