Netherlands drought record soon to be broken

This summer is fast becoming the driest summer the Netherlands ever had. It seems almost certain that the drought record dating from the summer of 1976 will be broken in the coming days, meteorologist Brian Verhoeven of Buienradar said to RTL Nieuws.

There is still no prospect of significant rain in the coming days, and the precipitation deficit will therefore continue to rise. Some rain may fall from Thursday, but not enough to end the drought. Multiple water saving measures have already been implemented across the Netherlands.

Also in terms of temperatures, no relief is in sight. From Tuesday maximums will climb higher and higher, with 35 degrees Celsius expected on Thursday. A national heatwave is almost certain. As soon as temperatures climb above 30 degrees in De Bilt for three days - a very good chance of this happening by Thursday - there is an official national heatwave.

Here too a record may be broken. The longest national heatwave in the Netherlands now stands at 18 days. If De Bilt counts three days above 30 degrees on Thursday, that will be day 12 of the heatwave.