Heatwave breaks June 26 record as museums open cooling spaces

Friday has become the hottest June 26 on record in the Netherlands. The temperature in Woensdrecht, Noord-Brabant, climbed to 34.4 degrees Celsius during the morning and is expected to rise further. According to Weeronline, the previous record dated back to June 26, 1976, when 34.1 degrees Celsius was measured in the village of Hupsel in the Achterhoek.

The Netherlands officially set a new June 26 heat record after the temperature at the main weather station in De Bilt reached 33.2 degrees Celsius at 12:30 p.m., according to the KNMI. That surpassed the previous record of 32.9 degrees Celsius, which had stood since 1976.

Weeronline forecasts temperatures of up to 38 to 39 degrees Celsius in the south and southeast of the Netherlands on Friday. If those forecasts are borne out, it would make Friday the hottest day of the year and potentially the hottest June day on record.

The Dutch temperature record stands at 40.7 degrees Celsius, set in Gilze-Rijen, Noord-Brabant, on July 25, 2019, the highest reading since weather records began.

A number of museums are waiving admission fees on Friday to help people escape the heat. The participating venues include the Catharijneconvent Museum in Utrecht, the Stedelijk Museum in Schiedam, and the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam, all of which are welcoming visitors looking for a cool place to shelter from the soaring temperatures.

The Catharijneconvent Museum is offering free admission from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., giving visitors access to its cool monastery corridors and cloister garden. Meanwhile, the Rembrandt House Museum is inviting all Amsterdam residents to visit free of charge from Friday to Sunday. Anyone who presents mail with an Amsterdam address can enter Rembrandt's "cool 17th-century home" between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., according to the museum.

The Stedelijk Museum Schiedam is continuing its free cooling initiative on Friday after offering it over the previous two days. Visitors are welcome to come in for drinking water, restroom facilities, or simply to escape the heat, while much of the museum is also open to them at no cost.

In Leiden, the Boerhaave Museum is offering free admission to people aged 70 and over seeking relief from the heat, while Naturalis is opening its ground floor as a cool public space.