Wettest six months ever measured in the Netherlands, and nearly the warmest on record

The first half of 2024 is the wettest first half year ever measured. In the period from January to June, 570 millimeters of rain fell. This broke the previous precipitation record from 2016 (501 millimeters). On average, 326 millimeters of rain fell in the first six months, Weeronline reports.

Four of the six months were exceptionally wet, leading to breaking the precipitation records in April and May. Only in March and June did it rain less than usual. Due to the heavy rainfall, the groundwater level was exceptionally high, causing inconvenience for farmers and cellar owners.

It has been extremely wet since August last year. From July 2023 to June 2024, 1270 millimetres of rain fell. Never before has so much rain fallen in a 12-month period.

It was also extremely warm in the first half of 2024. The average temperature was 10.5 degrees, compared to the normal 8.7 degrees. Only 2007 was warmer, with an average temperature of 10.9 degrees. Nevertheless, it did not seem to be so warm in recent months, as spring remained relatively cool. The extremely mild winter ensured that the average temperature was still high. The warmest day of this half-year fell on June 26 with 30.2 degrees in De Bilt. Furthermore, the sun shone for 872 hours in total, compared to an average of 970 hours in the first six months of the year.

Despite the above-average wet weather in the year's first half, it was very warm. According to Weeronline, the first half of 2024 was the second warmest ever in the Netherlands. The average temperature in De Bilt was 10.5 degrees, compared to 8.7 degrees normally. Only once has the first half of the year been warmer, and that was in 2007 when the average temperature was no less than 10.9 degrees.

Nevertheless, this year will not yet be perceived as warm by many people. This is mainly due to the lack of pleasant and warm spring weather and the extremely mild winter. Both February and March were record-breakingly warm, according to the weather service. June is the only month slightly colder than normal in climatic terms. The average temperature was 15.8 degrees compared to the usual 16.4 degrees.