False alarm: Swiss siren goes off a day early

False alarm in Suhr AG: Siren goes off one day before the test run

Keystone-SDA

Residents of Suhr, near Aarau in northern Switzerland, were confused on Tuesday when a siren went off at 1:58pm – one day before the planned annual nationwide siren test.

This content was published on

February 3, 2026 – 16:25

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It was a false alarm, according to Alertswiss. There was no danger.

Around 360 stationary sirens will sound in canton Aargau on Wednesday. There are 5,000 sirens throughout Switzerland.

The annual test is intended to show whether the sirens are working reliably. According to the authorities, the population does not have to do anything.

This year, the sirens will go off between 1:30pm and 4:30pm, depending on the location.

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Swiss oddities

An eye-opening guide to Switzerland’s ear-splitting sirens

This content was published on

Feb 1, 2025


Every year, on the first Wednesday in February, the sound of 7,200 sirens fills the Alpine air, startling anyone who doesn’t know it’s a test.

Read more: An eye-opening guide to Switzerland’s ear-splitting sirens

Adapted from German by AI/ts

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