KNMI: Driest spring ever measured
The Netherlands experiences the driest spring on
record. It is drier than in 2011, so far spring with the largest rainfall
deficit. It fits in with a trend: the rainfall deficit in The Months of April
and May has increased by almost 50% over the past 50 years.
Cor Bacon
Cutter May 28, 2020, 9:00AM
Due to
persistent drought, spraying is prohibited in some regions. No more spray water
may be extracted from ditches, streams and canals.
This is
reported by the KNMI in its weekly climate report. The precipitation deficit, a
measure of drought, is the difference between the evaporation and the amount of
precipitation. By the end of this week this will have risen to a record high in
the Netherlands: 150 millimetres. Over the past half century, the rainfall
deficit has increased by an average of almost 1 percent, or 0.57 millimeters,
annually. This is mainly due to the increased evaporation. The amount of precipitation
has hardly changed in the same period.
The
increase in evaporation is due to rising temperatures, an increase in the
number of hours of sunshine and a stronger solar radiation due to cleaner air
and reduced cloud cover, says Peter Siegmund, climate researcher at the KNMI.
Twice as much solar radiation gives twice as much evaporation. Per degree
temperature increase, evaporation increases by 2 percent (in summer) to 3
percent (in winter).
Earlier
this week, research by KNMI and Utrecht University showed that there are
regional differences in the summer drought: it affects the interior harder and
more frequently than the coastal regions of the Netherlands. On the coast, the
amount of summer precipitation has increased in recent decades. These figures
are for a different period of the year, Siegmund explains. They are about precipitation
deficits in the 'growth period' from April to September; the new drought
figures relate only to the months of April and May.
Differences
Unlike in
the spring, when the amount of precipitation has remained virtually the same in
recent decades, the average amount of precipitation throughout the Netherlands
continues to increase during the growing period. Like summer, spring has
regional differences in rainfall deficits: evaporation and solar radiation, and
therefore the deficiency of precipitation, are increasing more strongly inland
than on the coast.
The
Netherlands has had two dry and exceptionally warm summers. After a wet start
to this year, not much rain has fallen since March. The effects of the drought
are most evident in the East and South of the Netherlands, especially in
agriculture and nature, reports the National Coordination Committee on Water
Distribution (LCW). Due to the large rainfall deficit, groundwater levels there
are on average very low for the time of year. It is not possible to supply
river water to these areas. According to the weather forecast, the dry weather
will persist for the time being.
According
to the LCW, water management is in order and the drought has no impact on the
drinking water supply. 'There are no bottlenecks in the sources (ground and
surface water) for the preparation of drinking water', according to the LCW.
The water supply through the Rhine and the Meuse is less than normal, but still
sufficient for the drinking water supply. In the coming weeks, water supplies
through these rivers are expected to decrease. In much of eastern and southern
The Netherlands, bans or restrictions on the extraction of surface water.
Netherlands driest spring ever measured
Posted by
Bart Verheggen on 28 May 2011
You might
not say it after such a rainy day, but this spring is exceptionally dry in the
Netherlands so far. The few rains that have fallen in recent weeks are far from sufficient to fill the rainfall
deficit (more evaporation than precipitation):
There was a
lot of sun with high temperatures, which caused a lot of evaporation. Moreover,
there has been little precipitation.
KNMI on the
long-term trend and the current season:
The
rainfall deficit in the Netherlands in the spring has been increasing in recent
years. (...) The increasing trend is linked to an increase in evaporation,
which in turn is the result of more sun and higher temperatures. (...) The
increasing trend is not related to a decreasing trend in precipitation, the
precipitation is increasing rather than decreasing in recent years. This
spring, however, the amount of precipitation is very small. In addition, there
is a lot of sun and the temperature is high, so there is a lot of evaporation.
As a result, the rainfall deficit this spring is greater than ever.
The climate
portal keeps a file on the drought in the Netherlands:
The
Netherlands is facing the driest spring on record. The water levels in the
Meuse and the Rhine are exceptionally low.
This has
implications for agriculture and nature. By dewatering, peatlands emit
additional greenhouse gases. The government is taking measures to minimise the
negative effects of the drought.
Endless sunshine: Spring 2020 was the sunniest on
record, and one of the driest
Society
June 1, 2020
https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2020/06/endless-sunshine-spring-2020-was-the-sunniest-on-record-and-one-of-the-driest/
The
meteorological spring of 2020 will go down as the sunniest on record by far,
with 790 hours of sunshine, compared with 517 in an average year. The new
record also beats the previous one, set in 2011 by 47 hours, the KNMI weather
bureau has confirmed. April was the sunniest April of all time and both March
and May are in the top five. De Kooij, near Den Helder in Noord Holland had the
most sunshine – 830 hours in total, while Twente had the least – 741 hours.
Spring was also extremely dry, with just 77 millimetres of rain falling,
compared with 172 in an average year. Most rain fell in March, and April and
May are both among the driest on record. The lack of rain is also beginning to
cause problems for water boards, and the situation has been made worse by the
increase in demand because so many people are at home. This weekend drinking
water company Vitens, which supplies 2.5 million homes in Overijssel,
Gelderland, Friesland, Utrecht and Flevoland, lowered the pressure in its pipes
to make sure it could guarantee supplies. Vitens is ‘urgently’ calling on
customers not to water their gardens and to reduce the length of time they
shower for, as well as to avoid using blow-up swimming pools.
Read more
at DutchNews.nl:
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