2020 has brought with it the sunniest start to spring in the Netherlands since records began. Since the start of spring (March 20), there has been well over 100 hours of sunshine.

Sunny spring

In order to follow weather trends, meteorologists divide the months into ten or eleven-day periods, called decades. This gives them a scale “that is not as rough as a month, but not as sensitive as a day,” said the Dutch weather service, Weerplaza.

The first decade of spring ran from March 21 to March 31. During this period, the Netherlands saw over 100 hours of sunshine, which beat the old record of 98 hours set in 1933. According to Weerplaza, it was sunny almost all day over the entire period.

There were occasionally some clouds, but the sky stayed clear most of the time. Some of you may have noticed the deep blue colour of the sky over this period. According to Weerplaza, this is largely due to the limited amount of air traffic, which has largely been limited due to the coronavirus. The weather service explained that the dry air and a “powerful high-pressure area high in the atmosphere” also played a part in this.

Records broken

The old record of 98 hours of sunshine in 1933 translates to an average of 8 hours and 54 minutes a day. The measuring point in De Bilt recorded around 110 to 112 hours of sunlight, which equates to an average of 10 hours and 5 minutes per day.

All the measuring points around the country logged record totals. The sunniest was at the KNMI measuring point near Den Helder, which had a total of 113 to 115 hours of sun.