New record: 2022 is sunniest year in the Netherlands

The year 2022 was a record-breaking sunny year for the Netherlands, according to Weeronline. For the first time, the limit of 2200 hours of sunshine per year was exceeded. The total number of sunshine hours, including the forecast for the last days of the year, is expected to reach about 2230. The old record dates back to 2003 and was 2099.5 hours. On average, the sun shone for 1773 hours nationwide.

It was also the first time that the sun shone for at least 2,000 hours across the country. The least sunny was in Eelde in Drenthe, where about 2050 sunshine hours were measured.

The old record here stood at 2041 hours. In Den Helder in Noord-Holland, the sun shone extremely often, nearly 2,400 hours compared to an average of 1,888 hours. "That means that the sun in the northwest of the country shone 500 hours, or 26 percent more than usual," the weather service said.

Despite the record number of hours of sunshine in 2022, not all months of the year were that sunny. January, for instance, was gloomier than usual, reported Weeronline.

In spring however, the months of March and August contributed significantly to this year's record, with 245 and 289 hours of sunshine, respectively, while 141 and 205 hours are normal.