Ell hits 30 °C on first local tropical day as beaches fill in Zandvoort and Scheveningen

The Netherlands recorded its first local tropical day of the year in Ell, Limburg, where temperatures reached 30.0 degrees Celsius at 2:40 p.m. Saturday, WeerOnline reports. In the meantime, the warm weather also drove heavy crowds to the coast, filling parking areas in Zandvoort and Scheveningen.

A local tropical day is defined as a day when at least one official measurement station in the country reaches 30 degrees.

The summerlike conditions drew large numbers of people to the beach. Parking lots in both Zandvoort and Scheveningen were full, and traffic was heavy heading toward Scheveningen, De Telegraaf noted.

Despite the congestion, images showed the beaches themselves were relatively uncrowded. Beach pavilions appeared to benefit from the weather, while only a small number of people entered the North Sea, where water temperatures remained low at around 13 degrees.

Meteorologists said additional locations could reach tropical temperatures in the coming hours. Warm conditions are expected to continue over the coming days, with summerlike heat or localized tropical warmth persisting.

From Wednesday onward, temperatures are expected to ease, though sunshine is forecast to remain widespread.

Climatological data show that the first tropical day typically occurs around June 7, based on the 1996–2025 climate period. That is earlier than the 1961–1990 average, when the first 30-degree reading typically did not occur until June 19. Weather patterns indicate that tropical heat is arriving earlier in the year than it did more than three decades ago.

Recent years have varied. The first tropical day occurred on June 12 in 2025, June 26 in 2024, and June 9 in 2023. In 2022, temperatures reached 30 degrees as early as May 18, while between 2019 and 2021, the first tropical day consistently arrived in June.

Historically, extremes have varied widely. The earliest recorded tropical day occurred on April 21, 1968, when temperatures reached 30 to 32.2 degrees in Venlo and 31.7 degrees in Buchten.

In 2005, parts of the southern Netherlands reached 30 degrees on May 1. In contrast, 1962 did not see tropical heat until after summer, when Buchten reached 31 degrees on September 3.

In 1920, Sittard recorded the year’s highest temperature at 29.9 degrees on July 12, while no location in the country reached tropical temperatures.