Netherlands Climate
Top 5 Cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, and Eindhoven
This month in numbers
April 2026 saw the Netherlands record an average temperature of 11.04°C, an anomaly of +3.1°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline, ranking it as the 6th warmest April in 86 years of records. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April on record for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.1°C. The three-month period from February to April 2026 was the 14th warmest on record for the Netherlands, with an average temperature of 7.24°C, an anomaly of +2.1°C.
What changed
The Netherlands experienced a significantly warmer April, contributing to a warmer-than-average start to the spring season. This regional warming trend is consistent with the broader European picture, as the Netherlands' 1-month anomaly was 0.62°C warmer than the average for the Europe group. The country's annual average temperature for 2025 was 11.73°C, marking it as the warmest year on record.
What’s driving change?
The warming experienced in the Netherlands this past month is influenced by several factors. The () was in positive territory but was predicted to drop into negative territory for the first half of May, which is typically correlated with high latitude blocking and higher pressures over Greenland and Iceland. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently in a Neutral phase, with a weekly Niño 3.4 sea surface temperature anomaly of +0.9°C. However, El Niño conditions are forecast to emerge during the boreal summer/autumn, with a 61% chance in May-July and a 79% chance in June-August, potentially bringing cooler late winters to Northern Europe. The Netherlands also experienced an unusual concentration of wildfires in late April, with two significant events occurring between April 29th and May 1st, representing 100% of the annual total for the past 12 months. These fires were exacerbated by an exceptionally dry April, with only 8 millimetres of rain falling nationwide, significantly below the monthly average of 43 millimetres. More information on active extreme weather events can be found at Extreme Weather tracker.
Looking ahead
El Niño conditions are expected to develop and persist through the summer and autumn of 2026, which could influence temperature and rainfall patterns in the coming months.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for Netherlands
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) — see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in Netherlands changing?
Netherlands is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Netherlands come from?
Climate data for Netherlands comes from Our World in Data, sourcing Copernicus ERA5 and HadCRUT5 (national temperature anomaly) and the Global Carbon Project via Our World in Data (CO₂ emissions), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the Netherlands climate data cover?
The Netherlands climate profile covers Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall and emissions data for Netherlands
How often is the Netherlands climate update refreshed?
The Netherlands climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.