Today was the first officially warm day of 2021

A temperature of 20 degrees Celsius was recorded at 2:30 p.m. in De Bilt, Utrecht, considered the meteorological center of the country. That makes it the first officially warm day of the year.

With some luck, warm days will fill the 2021 calendar like last year, when 110 such days were recorded. That was tied for third on record with 2014. The record was set in 2018 with 132 warm days, followed by 116 in 2006.

On average, the first day in which 20 degrees is reached is April 13, Dutch weather website WeerOnline reported.

The first warm day of 2021 also came sooner compared to last year, when the first warm day was recorded on April 6. This year's first 20-degree day was the earliest since 2017, which also hit the mark on March 30.

The earliest the annual milestone was reached was in both 1961 and 1990. On March 17, 1961 it reached 20.0 degrees in De Bilt and 20.6 degrees in 1990. The longest wait for the first warm day was in 1983, with 22.8 degrees recorded on May 31 of that year.

The past thirty years has seen an average of 93 days per year where the mercury hits 20 degrees. That is an increase of eight days compared to the previous climate period 1981-2010.