Yesterday was the hottest day ever measured in the Netherlands. At 17:00 hrs the thermometer showed the record temperature of 40.7 degrees at Gilze-Rijen Air Base.
Eindhoven held a temporary record of 39,3 degrees.
Last night was also the night with the highest nightly temperature ever measured. It didn’t get any cooler than 22.9 degrees.
Peculiarities:
– Not only in winter salt is sprinkled on the roads, in the last days in several parts of the Netherlands the salt trucks appeared. It seems it also helps against asphalt damage in the heat. Salt cools the road surface and draws moisture from asphalt layers.
-For the second day in a row and on different routes, NS (Dutch Railways) has cancelled several journeys because fewer trains are available. The high temperatures overheat the vehicles and cause them to malfunction.
The railroad tracks also cause disturbances. In this heat, steel expands. A piece of track of 30 metres can be up to one centimetre longer. And because the track is as tight as ‘a stretched elastic band’, there can be twists and turns in the track.
In Helmond the gates of a railroad crossing didn’t open yesterday because of a malfunctioning.
-Hundreds of pigs died on Wednesday because the farm ventilation system was faulty. The animals that were still alive were taken out of the stables, but the rapidly rising temperatures were already fatal for hundreds of pigs. The NVWA has started an investigation into this incident.
– Several sun tanning studios are still fully booked this month.
– 3 people died while swimming in the North Sea, one man drowned in a swimming pool in Limburg and one asylum seeker drowned in Winterswijk.
– Volunteers of Stichting Met je Hart visited elderly people to distribute ice creams and to have a ‘refreshing’ conversation with them.
– The Merwede Bridge of the A27 near Werkendam has been cooled with water since Thursday. The steel parts of the bridge have been expanded due to the high temperature, which means that the movable part of the bridge can no longer be opened or closed properly.
