Skip to the story
All stories

Netherlands records warmest summer since 1901

Average temperature of 19.3°C surpassed the 2018 record, with multiple heatwaves and warm nights.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
Photo: Depositphotos.com

What this story says

  • The summer of 2026 was the warmest in the Netherlands since records began in 1901.
  • The average temperature reached 19.3°C at the KNMI's benchmark station in De Bilt, surpassing the 2018 record of 18.9°C.
  • The season was characterised by multiple heatwaves and exceptionally warm nights, including three consecutive nights above 22°C in Maastricht.
  • Climate expert Peter Siegmund stated that such a warm summer could occur once every five years in the current climate, a frequency expected to increase.

Who covered it

Left 13%(4)Centre 35%(11)Right 52%(16)

Percentages are shares of the 31 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 41 of the 72 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

60/100

Craft

60/100

Hype

20/100

72 sources · methodology

The summer of 2026 was the warmest in the Netherlands since national records commenced in 1901. Data from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) shows the average temperature across the three summer months reached 19.3°C at its benchmark station in De Bilt. This figure surpassed the previous record of 18.9°C, which was set in 2018.

The season was marked by multiple heatwaves and exceptionally warm nights. In Maastricht, the temperature remained above 22°C for three consecutive nights, a phenomenon recorded for the first time in the Netherlands. The KNMI issued its first-ever code red warning for extreme heat in June.

KNMI climate expert Peter Siegmund indicated that a summer with such high temperatures can now be expected approximately once every five years under the current climate conditions. He also stated that under the KNMI's highest climate scenario, a summer like this could be considered average by around 2050.

Coverage comparison

What the coverage left out

None of the centre or right-rated reports printed below mention the public health institute RIVM's figure of at least 900 excess deaths linked to the June heatwave. This detail was present in the full report from Dutch News.

Coverage settled. We checked this 8 times and stopped on 2 Sept 2026, 00:00. The figures above are what it finished at.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

Netherlands records warmest summer since 1901
Anadolu AjansıRight

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

4 rated outlets

  • The left-leaning outlets reported that Germany recorded 15,800 heat-related deaths this summer, according to the Robert Koch Institute. The Local's full report stated that people over 75 were most affected, with around 9,600 deaths in late June.
  • The Local's report included comments from Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Thorsten Frei of the CDU party regarding government responsibility for heat protection. Environmental Action Germany criticised the government for failing to adopt effective measures.
  • The digests from Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Zeit Online, and Le Monde focused on the RKI's death toll estimate. Le Monde specified that the late June heatwave alone caused over 9,600 deaths.

Centre

11 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated reports from Dutch News and Algemeen Dagblad led with the record-breaking temperature. Both noted the average temperature of 19.3°C and that it surpassed the 2018 record. Dutch News also highlighted the KNMI's first-ever code red warning for extreme heat and linked at least 900 excess deaths to the June heatwave, citing the public health institute RIVM. This report also included comments from KNMI climate expert Peter Siegmund on the increasing frequency of such summers and future projections.

Right

16 rated outlets

  • The right-rated reports from Anadolu Ajansı, BNR Nieuwsradio, anews.com.tr, and NOS focused on the record-breaking nature of the summer. They all stated the average temperature reached 19.3°C, exceeding the 2018 record. Anadolu Ajansı and anews.com.tr mentioned the prolonged drought and exceptionally warm nights. Anadolu Ajansı also quoted KNMI climate expert Peter Siegmund on the frequency of such summers and future climate scenarios, including the potential impact of effective climate policies. NOS reported that the summer was the warmest ever recorded in the Netherlands and that the 19.3°C average was a significant leap from the previous record.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Netherlands records warmest summer since 1901?
Of the 31 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 13% are rated left, 35% are rated centre, 52% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 72. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Netherlands records warmest summer since 1901 left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 31 rated outlets on this story, 13% are rated left, 35% are rated centre, 52% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Netherlands records warmest summer since 1901 biased?
Netherlands records warmest summer since 1901 is one event reported by 72 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered Netherlands records warmest summer since 1901?
72 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What was the average temperature during the summer of 2026 in the Netherlands?
The average temperature during the summer of 2026 in the Netherlands was 19.3°C. This was recorded at the KNMI's benchmark station in De Bilt and surpassed the previous record.
When was the previous record for the warmest summer in the Netherlands?
The previous record for the warmest summer in the Netherlands was set in 2018, with an average temperature of 18.9°C. The 2026 summer surpassed this by nearly half a degree.
What unusual weather events occurred during the summer of 2026?
The summer of 2026 was marked by multiple heatwaves and exceptionally warm nights. In Maastricht, the temperature stayed above 22°C for three consecutive nights for the first time on record.
How often are summers like this expected in the future?
According to KNMI climate expert Peter Siegmund, a summer as warm as 2026 can now be expected roughly once every five years in the current climate. This frequency is expected to shorten as global warming continues.

Read it at the source

72 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

4

Centre

11
Show 3 more

Right

16
Show 8 more

Not rated

41
Show 33 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

Netherlands warmest summer | MediaBias News