September second warmest ever recorded with 17.5°C average temperature

September this year was nearly the warmest ever recorded with an average temperature of 17.5 degrees Celsius, the Dutch meteorological institute KNMI reported on Monday. Only September in 2006 was warmer since measurements began in 1901.

The Netherlands experienced an extremely hot start to September, breaking heat records for six days in a row starting from September 6. The highest temperature of the month, 32.2 degrees, was recorded on September 10 in both Eindhoven in Noord-Brabant and Ell in Limburg. It was the hottest week of 2023, more than a degree warmer than the warm week around June 12.

"Such a warm week is very exceptional, the likelihood of this happening in the current climate is at most 2 percent, or once every 50 years or even less frequently," the KNMI noted.

September also ranked in the top 10 sunniest September months since the start of measurements. On average, the sun shone across the country for about 210 hours, compared to the typical 159 hours in September. The southeast part of the country was the sunniest, with approximately 225 hours of sunshine recorded in Beek, in the province of Limburg.

With a national average rainfall of approximately 65 mm, compared to the usual 73 mm, September was relatively dry.

Official weather records for the Netherlands are recorded in De Bilt, which is considered a meteorological center for the country.