In their report, “The State of Climate 2022,” the KNMI (Dutch Royal Weather Institute) has given an overview of, you guessed it, the Dutch weather in times of climate change.
The most important conclusions have been summarised by RTL Nieuws. And let us tell you: It’s not looking too good.
It’s gettin’ hot in here
Many people have noticed that the land of clogs seems to be getting hotter each year. And yup, there is truth to this assumption.
In 2022, the lovely flat country was no stranger to high temperatures and broke record after record.
READ MORE | How do the Dutch feel about climate change?
Overall, according to the experts from the KNMI, the Netherlands has warmed up by 2.3 degrees Celsius over the past 120 years — and the Earth’s surface as a whole, by 1.2. 📈
“What was considered an exceptionally hot year in the Netherlands 100 years ago would be exceptionally cold today,” Bart Verheggen tells RTL Nieuws.
2022 was DRY
The high temperatures of 2022, in combination with little amounts of rain, had rivers run dry all over Europe. The land of dikes and canals suffered its very own drought, which even caused there to be a nationwide water shortage.
This #Summer has not been forgiving to #Europe and their series of bad decisions this year.
— Zeno Žokalj (@ZenoZokalj) August 9, 2022
Everything has dried up: Rivers of #Germany, #France, #Italy and the #UnitedKingdom right now.
More photos on: https://t.co/9gHTa5SCij pic.twitter.com/B8k3oTywNE
This is a trend that, as Bart Verheggen tells RTL Nieuws, is expected to continue over the years due to climate change.
With about two-thirds of the Dutch population living below sea level, this can quickly become a problem in the Netherlands — where low rivers can interfere with water traffic and lay low houseboats. ⛴️
Rising sea levels
Though it’s been a dry year, climate change has global sea levels rising at record speed.
Up until recently, the Dutch coast seemed to be dodging that bullet, but the KNMI’s new research has proven that acutely rising sea levels are affecting the Netherlands more and more.
READ MORE | Why the Netherlands isn’t underwater
The masters of water bending will need to revise their Delta Plan to take preventive measures that focus on the places where most people are at risk — such as the Randstad.
More sun?
Though it may not have seemed that way, 2022 was the sunniest year since the start of records in 1965. ☀️
READ MORE | Breaking records: The Netherlands generates most solar power in Europe
And no, this is not due to the sun shining stronger (because that’s not possible 😉), but because there was less cloud coverage.
What adds to the increase of the so-called “solar radiation” is the fact that the air has become cleaner overall. Harmful matter in the air used to not only add to cloud formation but also reflect the sun.
But over the past years, more and more of this matter has been phased out of the air.
What do you think about the results of the KNMI’s climate investigation? Tell us in the comments!
LOL it’s either too much or too little water…
If it’s sometimes one or the other then the net result is the average, right?
Do we know math or are we just spreading propaganda to justify autocratic measures to make the citizens poor?