Cloudy and green Christmas for Netherlands

Christmas day in the Netherlands will be predominantly cloudy with some light rain in the morning, according to meteorological institute KNMI. There is no chance of snow.

Afternoon temperatures will climb to a relatively mild 9 degrees Celsius. And a moderate to strong south-westerly wind will blow in the afternoon.

The Netherlands hasn't had a white Christmas in seven years. And according to the KNMI, the chances of snow on Christmas in the future will be even smaller. The last white Christmas in the Netherlands was in 2010. Between the start of weather measurements in the Netherlands in 1901 and present, the country only had eight white Christmases - when De Bilt is covered in snow on both Christmas days.

Due to global warming, the number of "potential" snow days - a day when the average temperature stays below zero and it is cold enough to snow instead of rain - is decreasing. Between 1981 and 2010, there were an average of 21 snow days in De Bilt per year. In the hottest KNMI scenario, that number will drop to only 4 around 2050, and 1 by the end of the century.