Hottest ever June 25 on record as temps hit 36 degrees

A new record for the warmest-ever June 25 was set on Tuesday when the thermometer peaked at 36 degrees. The new record was set in Volkel, Noord-Brabant, breaking the previous record of 34 degrees set in the same place in 1976.

Today's high temperature was recorded by Dutch meteorological agency KNMI at 4:50 p.m. The record was already beaten hours earlier when 34.2 degrees was recorded in Hupsel, a small Gelderland village just eight kilometers west of the German border.

Also the official national high temperature, taken at KNMI headquarters in De Bilt, Utrecht, was cleared on Tuesday afternoon. The previous June 25 record of 32.9 degrees, set in 1976, was topped at 4:20 p.m., when the weather station there recorded 33.1 degrees.

The record-breaking day was already expected to be the warmest day this week. Drivers with stranded vehicles on Dutch highways were likely to experience some punishing heat. Road surface temperatures approached 50 degrees on Tuesday, according to Weeronline.

The expected heat wave prompted the country to activate the National Heat Plan alerting authorities and residents to be more aware of the condition of elderly people, babies, and other vulnerable people in society. A Code Yellow weather warning for the hot weather was in effect across parts of the country from Sunday through Wednesday.

The average high temperature in the Netherlands for this time of year falls between 20 and 22 degrees on average.