The next crisis is a DROUGHT crisis!

Nature has to do it more and more without rain. In fact, spring is so dry, that this should only occur once every twenty years, say the KNMI's weather measurements. But locally, these measurements still underestimate the current drought, because groundwater has subsided further in many places.

The drought in the Netherlands, from day to day. De Volkskrant follows the drought this summer. Where is the greatest need at the moment? And what can we expect in the coming days? This map provides an up-to-date overview every day.

Drought in the Netherlands
Anyone who thinks drought is only a problem in warm, poor countries will be deceived. Admittedly, our wet frogland will not turn into a Sahara sandbox anytime soon, but there are certainly problems ahead. Henny van Lanen, researcher at Wageningen University, says the Netherlands is “blind to drought”. A big danger is that our cattle dikes break. These dikes are mainly located in low-lying polders and densely populated areas, such as the Green Heart. Due to persistent dryness, cracks appear in the dikes, which cause them to weaken and break. “The risk of dike breakthrough in drought is not great, but if it happens, the water is right in the kitchen,” says Rens van Beek, hydrologist at the University of Utrecht.

Farmer Bert sees harvest shrivel due to drought
It's getting wetter, warmer and sea levels are rising due to climate change. Yet we do not dwell on another important consequence of global warming: it is getting drier and drier. This not only causes problems for farmers, but also poses a danger to our country.

The nonsensical export of our groundwater.
Very undesirable when you realize that half of the farmland is used for the cultivation of animal feed for our farm animals. The related products meat, dairy and eggs are exported abroad for more than 70 to 75 percent. Indirectly, we export our precious groundwater and surface water abroad, so as not to. And the Netherlands is saddled with a permanent and dire water problem on the high sandy soils and drying out of peatlands and, above all, a lot of crap, nitrogen, stench and particulate matter.