Netherlands braced for hottest days of the year

The Netherlands is heading into its hottest spell of the year so far, with temperatures in the south forecast to reach 37° or 38° by mid-week – levels some forecasters say could be the hottest June days since records began.

From Wednesday, after days of mounting heat, hot air will move in from the south, the KNMI weather service said, pushing highs to between 32° and 38° across much of the country. Thursday and Friday could be a degree or two warmer still.

The highest June temperature recorded at a Dutch weather station is 38.4°, measured in Maastricht on June 27, 1947.

The country is not yet in an official national heatwave, which requires five consecutive days above 25°, at least three of them above 30°.

That threshold could be reached on Wednesday at the earliest, the KNMI said, and possibly not until Thursday. The southeast has already been in a regional heatwave for several days.

A continent-wide heatwave
France recorded 41° on Sunday and has issued red warnings, with highs of 40° to 42° forecast in the days ahead. Parts of England, southern Germany, and Spain are braced for exceptional June temperatures, with highs of 40° or more expected across much of Spain.

Scientists tie the rising frequency and intensity of such heatwaves to a warming climate. The KNMI says heatwaves that once came around once a decade now arrive roughly every three years, and run more than a degree hotter. Without global warming, it added, this week would not turn so hot.

The hot spell follows a weekend of storms that left one person dead. The public health institute RIVM has issued a national heat warning, in force from Thursday.