You may have just recovered from the last heatwave, which ended on Saturday, July 28 and lasted 13 days, but the next one is already here, according to weather forecasters. Be prepared to make some changes to get a good night’s sleep in the heatwave!

National heatwave in the Netherlands

For there to be a national heatwave in the Netherlands, temperatures at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) measuring point De Bilt need to be above 25C or higher for five consecutive days, and for three of the five days, temperatures need to be 30C or above.

According to the KNMI, temperatures on Monday, July 30, rose above 30C. On Thursday, August 2, tropical temperatures of 30 degrees were predicted and on Friday, August 3, the heat is expected to increase to 31C. If the weather behaves as forecast, the Netherlands will officially experience its second national heatwave this summer. It is anticipated that the warm weather will last at least until Wednesday, August 8.

The last time there was a heatwave in De Bilt twice in one year was in 2006, and before that 1941. In these years, the heatwaves belonged to separate periods of warm weather, whilst this year, the heatwaves are separated by a singular day.

Regional heatwaves still going strong

Whilst last Saturday marked the end of the first heatwave this year in De Bilt, for some regions, the heatwave continued. In North-Brabant, Limburg, Gelderland and Twente, Friday, August 3 could mark a record-long heatwave, lasting 23 days.

The heatwave in these regions began on July 12. The previous record for the longest heatwave was in 1994 in Arcen, lasting 22 days from July 10 to July 31.

KNMI code yellow

Due to the continuous hot weather in the provinces of Drenthe, Overijssel, Gelderland, Utrecht, North-Brabant and Limburg, the KNMI has issued a code yellow warning. This was issued on August 2 and is valid until August 4.

The code yellow warning also means that the Dutch Heat Plan by the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) is in force. The plan advises limiting physical activity and drinking enough water, amongst other things.