The climate in the Netherlands

Climate zone: Moderate zone of the northern hemisphere

The climate in the Netherlands is quite varied, but generally does not offer extreme climate conditions. It is cold and wet with some nice summer months. The warmest and at the same time rainiest province is Northbrabant. The coldest is Groningen. Due to the warmer temperatures, the best time for traveling is from June to September. Less attractive are the cold months from November to March.

Temperature records of the last 73 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to September 2022 was reported by the Maastricht weather station. In July 2019, the record temperature of 39.6 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 5 weather stations in the Netherlands , was recorded in 2006 with an average temperature of 19.0 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 17.0 degrees Celsius. The average maximum daily temperature at that time was 23.3 °C.

The coldest day in these 73 years was reported by the Groningen weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -19.5 °C in February 2012. Groningen lies at an altitude of four meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1963 with an average temperature of -1.3 °C. In the Netherlands, it is usual to have about 5.8 degrees more at 4.5 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in September 2001. With 7.3 mm per day, the Groningen weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 73 years.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1951 - 2021

In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 1 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 1951 to 2021, there were only these 1 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (De Bilt). From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was July 2006 at 22.3 °C. February 1956 was the coldest month with an average temperature of -6.7 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 9.2 °C in the years after 1951 and about 11.1 °C in the last years before 2021. So in less than 71 years, it has increased by about 1.9 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 1 weather stations in the Netherlands. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level. Thus, if a disproportionate number of weather stations are located in a small area, their number does not affect the national average. There are 5 stations in the Netherlands itself. In 9 cases, neighboring but nearby weather stations were also used to obtain more accurate values.