The weather analyzed long-term and over 2008

DE BILT – The year 2008 is the twelfth one in a row with warmer than average temperatures, 10.6 degrees Celcius while the long-term average temperature is only 9.8 degrees. The year 2008 ranks ninth on the list of the warmest years since 1901. The ten warmest years all date from after 1988. Worldwide, 2008 also ranks as one of the ten warmest on record in 150 years. Warm weather nearly peaked in January 2008 when the average temperature came in at 6.5 degrees, while the long-term average was only 2.8 degrees. Only one January was warmer since record keeping began in 1706. To balance the report, it should be noted that the months September, October and December all were below the long-term average temperature: the average in December was 2.6 degrees while the long-term average is 4.0 degrees. The coldest in 2008 was Woensdrecht on December 29 with -9.2 degrees while Eelde set a record with 34.3 degrees on July 2. With 828 millimetres it rained more than average (797mm) in the Netherlands in 2008. The Dutch also saw the sun more than usual, 1795 hours compared to a long-term average of 1527 hours.