Netherlands to set sunniest year on record this week

The Netherlands will likely set a national record this week for the most hours of sunshine in a single calendar year. The current record stands at 2,099.5 hours of sunshine, set in 2003. By the end of Tuesday or Wednesday, the total for this year should pass the 2,100 hour mark, the Telegraaf reported.

With just over seven weeks left in the year, the amount of sunshine has already far exceeded the national average of 1,773. That means people in the country have had a chance to enjoy 18.5 percent more time basking in the sun than the average.

The months of March and August were key in setting the new record, the newspaper noted. Where the Netherlands would normally enjoy 141 hours of sunshine in March, that figure rose to 245 hours this year. August also outshined the average with 289 hours compared to a mean of 205.

This year also put February in the top ten for the sunniest February of all time. The same could be said for April, June, July and October. May and September were also well above average, but fell outside the top ten. January was drearier than normal, the newspaper noted.

The sunniest spot in the Netherlands this year is Den Helder, where the weather station recorded 2,250 hours of sunshine. That also set a record, as 2,200 was the most recorded at any single local weather station in the past. The western part of the Netherlands was overall sunnier than the rest.

According to the KNMI, the Dutch meteorological institute, there is just a 30 percent chance of sun on Wednesday and Thursday, but sunnier days are expected through the weekend into next week. High temperatures of 16 degrees could be reached on Monday.

“At first, there is still quite a high chance (approx. 80%) of fairly sunny and dry autumn weather. After that, there is an increasing chance of a more variable types of weather,” the KNMI said on Tuesday.