It will be very hot in the coming days and people will be warned to cool off. But every summer has hot days, so how special is this heat? “It’s incredible that it’s headed for 40 degrees in the Netherlands.”

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Usually warmer than 30 degrees in a day, but still quite special. Climate scientist Karin van der Wiel from KNMI says this doesn’t happen every year. On average, it has been warmer than 30 degrees two to five times a year in recent years. But it’s possible that one year will be warmer than 30 degrees for almost a week, and another year the mercury never rises above 30 degrees.

It could be as high as 37 degrees on Tuesday, according to Van der Wiel, “pretty incredible”. Figures requested from the KNMI show that since 1901 the temperature at the measuring station in De Bilt has only reached 35 degrees or more for nine days. This weather station is located in the middle of the Netherlands and is often used to measure the weather in that country.

The hottest temperature since the initial measurement was recorded on July 25, 2019. At that time, a temperature of 40.7 degrees was measured in Gilze-Rijen (North Brabant). This broke the 75-year record from 1944 by 38.6 degrees.

Roosmarijn Knol of Weerplaza also called it “quite incredible” that the temperature in the Netherlands was close to 40 degrees. According to him, the high temperature also makes the situation special. Knol cited, among other things, the Nijmegen Four-Day Parade, which cut short the one-day walk due to the heat. Other events are also taking action against the heat.

In addition, RIVM has instituted a hot plan from Monday morning. This means that measures are taken to provide extra protection for vulnerable people (eg in nursing homes). But it is not uncommon for a National Heat Plan to be established. This has happened 15 times since 2015.

The effects of the current heat are not only visible in the Netherlands. The ‘big bubble of warm air’ has also caused extremely high temperatures and wildfires in southern Europe. Record temperatures above 40 degrees are likely to be measured in the UK in the coming days, Knol said.

According to Van der Wiel, climate change means we have to deal with hot days like this more often. It’s getting hotter because of climate change. And on days that are already hot, the average temperature rises more than on days that are cooler. So it gets hotter on a hot day.

Very high temperatures are short-lived. Wednesday will be 9 to 12 degrees cooler than Tuesday, Weerplaza reports. On Thursday, temperatures will also range from 22 degrees in the northwest to 26 degrees in the east and southeast. So no heatwaves, but “we can definitely call it a warm period.”