Third regional heatwave hits Netherlands, breaking 2006 record

A third regional heatwave of the year was officially confirmed Monday in Gilze-Rijen in Noord-Brabant, with additional locations in Zeeland, Noord-Brabant, and Limburg expected to meet the criteria later in the day.

The temperature in Gilze-Rijen reached 25.4 degrees Celsius Monday afternoon, sufficient to declare a regional heatwave, according to Weeronline. A regional heatwave requires five consecutive days with temperatures of 25 degrees or higher, including three days of 30 degrees or more.

The short interval between the second and third regional heatwaves—just seven days—breaks a record from 2006, Weeronline reported. The national record for the most regional heatwaves in a single year remains five, set in Maastricht during the summer of 1947.

Code yellow heat warnings are in effect Monday for Zeeland, Noord-Brabant, Limburg, Zuid-Holland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overijssel because of the temperatures of around 30 degrees. The warnings were expected to remain in place Tuesday and Wednesday.

Later Monday, heatwave conditions are also likely in Westdorpe in Zeeland; Woensdrecht and Volkel in Noord-Brabant; and Horst, Ell and Maastricht in Limburg, provided temperatures reach 30 degrees in those areas.

A national heatwave has a roughly 30 percent chance of developing this year. It requires the same temperature thresholds at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute's main station in De Bilt.