Hot, dry summer ahead as Amsterdam considers promoting wild swimming in canals

The Netherlands is due a hot summer this year, and with many people planning to stay in the country, municipalities are searching for ways to help people to enjoy it safely.

In Amsterdam, Jan-Bert Vroege, a D66 councillor, is investigating the possibilities of opening up swimming areas in the canals around the city. Wild swimming in the canals has the advantage of being cheap, and therefore accessible to everyone.

It also allows for social distancing: if the city opens up lots of swimming areas, and spreads them out well, Amsterdammers won’t end up crowding to the same couple of places. Swimming in some canals is still unadvisable, given, well, the random bikes that occasionally get chucked in.

But the Waternet water board is investigating the level of cleanliness in different areas of the Amsterdam canals, so that the municipality can make a more informed decision about wild swimming in the canals.

Droughts expected this summer

According to Weeronline, we can expect a hot, dry summer in the Netherlands, with highs of 35-40 degrees Celsius. Since April this year, the Netherlands has been dealing with the consequences of a drought, with issues occurring that usually wouldn’t be a problem until high summer. For example, plants in an Amsterdam park already had to be watered in May.

However, the summer will still be Dutch, in the sense that the weather we experience in any given week will be changeable, with showers, sun, and more showers expected most weeks. Temperatures will generally range between 20 and 25 degrees.

Would you go swimming in the canals of Amsterdam? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature Image: 12019/Pixabay 

Ailish Lalor
Ailish Lalor
Ailish was born in Sydney, Australia, but grew up by a forest in south-east Ireland, which she has attempted to replace with a living room filled with plants in The Hague. Besides catering to her army of pannenkoekenplantjes, Ailish spends her days convincing her friends that all food is better slightly burnt, plotting ways to hang out with dogs and cats, and of course, writing for DutchReview.

3 COMMENTS

  1. Anyone seriously considering this idea has never been to the Netherlands and has no idea of the muck chucked into the canals.

  2. Definitely would love to. Block off Brouwersgracht between Prinsengracht & Keisergracht. Perfect and has ladders for climbing in/out

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