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B2 DAILY STORY
World 24 Jun 2026

Greetings from sweltering Switzerland

On the waterfront in Lucerne, Switzerland, soccer fans watched jumbo TVs showing a World Cup match played an ocean away. But the air felt more like the tropics.

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On the waterfront in Lucerne, Switzerland, soccer fans watched jumbo TVs showing a World Cup match played an ocean away. But the air felt more like the tropics. When I stepped outside, it looked like Switzerland, but it didn't feel like it. In the distance, the white-capped Alps stood, majestic, reflected in the turquoise waters of Lake Lucerne as I strolled along the waterfront. But the air was not the crisp, cool mountain air I was accustomed to whenever I came here to cover a story. Instead, during this visit late last week, it was scorching and thick with humidity, and walking through it was like wading through cotton dipped in boiling water. In front of me was beautiful Lucerne, but the air felt like I was in Luzon (Philippines). Along the waterfront, red-and-white-clad soccer fans clustered together to watch jumbo TV screens showing a FIFA World Cup match played an ocean away in the U.S.; Switzerland versus Bosnia-Herzegovina. Each time the Swiss team scored, a deafening roar cut through the thick tropical air.

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