The Swiss climate in general may be considered as temperate. It's a small country, but the weather conditions can be different, depending in with part of Switzerland you are, which is caused by the variety of relief. The north-western (Geneva, Basel)and the central regions (Bern, Lucerne) are under the influence of west winds from the Atlantics, hot summers, mild winters. South Switzerland is enjoying mild subtropical weather. Between the Alps, the mountains are crossing Switerland in the middle from East to West, covering a significant portion of Swiss Lands and providing alpine climate (Arosa, Chur, Davos, Glarus, Interlaken and more). By nature the altitude affects weather. The higher you go, temparature will drop and humidity will grow. But even in Summer, during hot temperature periods, some of the top mountains are still partly covered with ice-caps. Switzerland appears to be pretty cold and snowy in winter, while the summers are warm with some pretty hot days as well.

Summer is the seaons with lots of local festivities in many regions. Summer ist the best time to go to Switzerland, if you like to swim in lakes and rivers, go surfing, biking or hiking high up in mountains. Some days can be hot, 32°C (89°F) or more, sometimes humid, especially in the larger cities. But the average temperature of northern and central regions is between 20 and 28°C (68-82°F). But even the highest temperature is relatively comfort, especially in the mountain areas, where you experience often a light breeze, the evenings chill eases noon heat. In the evenings make sure you have light jacket with you, even in the middle of Swiss Summer. Compare to Asia, sunsets in Switzerland are far later and therefore we have longer daylight in Summer: June-21st is usually the "longest day" in Switzerland, almost 16 hours daylight. Sunrise is at 05:30 and sunset at 21:24, plus 30 minutes for dust and dawn.

The Swiss Winter is cold, the average temperature depends on altitude and location of certain region. The Mountainous areas are coldest, temperature can drop under 0°C (34°F) and lower, even during the day. There is no "white Christmas" guaranteed everywhere in Switzerland, especially the warmer cities. January is the coldest month and the chance are high, that almost all country is covered with snow. Of course highlands are snowier than plains because of more precipitations. For example average thickness of snow cover in Arosa is about more than 3 meters (10 feet). The mountains have a very low probability of fogs. So you can experience great days in the higher resorts with blue sky and lot's of snow.