Dry weather to last at least another week

The Netherlands can expect more dry weather in the coming days. Until the end of next week there will be no, or hardly any, rain, according to meteorological institute KNMI. After that there is a chance of rain, but not enough to end the drought.

"The [precipitation] shortage will increase sharply in the coming period", KNMI meteorologist Edwin Buscher said to Het Parool. "We'll also continue to have high temperatures. It is too hot for the time of year." The current level of precipitation deficit occurs on average once every 20 years.

The drought is the greatest in the east and south of the country. Farmers in parts of Limburg, Noord-Brabant and the Veluwe are currently banned from irrigating their fields using surface water. The situation is not much better in the basin of the major rivers Rijn and Maas.