The Netherlands sees record amount of sunshine in 2025 so far
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By Simone Jacobs
In 2025 so far, the Netherlands has seen the most hours of sunshine ever recorded in the first six months of a year. The country has had the chance to enjoy more than 200 extra hours of sunshine since the beginning of January.
2025 sunniest year in the Netherlands so far
The Netherlands has experienced more than 1.181 hours of sunshine this year so far, breaking the six-month record set in 2022. Even better, forecasts predict that by the end of June, this will go up to 1.245 hours of sunlight.
Usually, the country only gets around 966 hours of sunshine in the first six months of the year. This means that 2025 has seen more than 200 extra hours of sunshine so far. Weeronline notes that the Netherlands has been getting more and more sun, especially in recent decades - the years with the sunniest first six months have all been from this century.
The spring of 2025 made the biggest contribution to the new sunshine record. Not only was it the driest spring in 50 years, but it brought with it 796 hours of sunlight instead of the usual 578. The weather in the Netherlands has been pretty spectacular this year in general, with low levels of rainfall and more sunny days than gloomy ones.
More sunny and warm Dutch weather on the way
While some rain and thunderstorms are cooling things down on Thursday, it will start warming up again this weekend as the sun shines again. On Saturday, the weather will take a turn for the better with long periods of sunshine and temperatures of up to 29 degrees celsius.
Things will continue to heat up on Sunday, with highs of between 26 and 31 degrees. Monday will see the mercury rise to a scorching peak of 33 degrees, and with little wind forecast, the day is set to be sweltering - the perfect opportunity to take a cooling dip in an outdoor lake.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training. Read more