The region is parched. It has scarcely rained for over a month, which will have consequences.
Crops are in danger, and there is a heightened chance of forest fires and the like. It is a lot busier at Brabant Water than normal. The drought is also taking its toll on wildlife and nature.
“Normally there are very few or no forest fires and such. Now there are five or six every day”, says Thijs Verheul of the regional fire department. Vigilance is necessary, he says, because carelessness is usually the cause of the fires. “Be careful with cigarettes and also with glass in nature. A fire can easily start and grow quickly.”
Mart van de Loo, forest ranger on the Strabrechtse Heather, also points out the dangers. “It is parched. You can see it in everything. The grass and the animals. We pay close attention, together with the fire department and the police. The other day someone wanted to have a barbecue here on the heather. We have to stop this at all costs”.
Brabant Water and the De Dommel Water Board are busier than usual. The organisations pointed out people have to use water more sparingly. ‘Use water throughout the day and have shorter showers. Do not use water for non-essential tasks’, Ilse de Groot of Brabant Water advised.
According to the KNMI, the Dutch Royal Weather Institute, the warm and dry weather will last for another ten days.
Source: Studio040
Translator: Maurice
