More extremes

Climate change continues. Weather conditions are becoming more extreme. Storms from the 'wrong' direction combined with a lot of rain increase the chance of flooding. Especially in areas outside the dikes. This happened in 2021 when Rijkswaterstaat had just raised the water level in the IJssel and Markermeer lakes to the summer level (to prevent drought later on), and a spring storm also hit. And it happened again in late 2023/early 2024 after a long period with a lot of rainfall, a lot of supply from the rivers and few possibilities to drain the water towards the Wadden Sea, so the water level in the IJssel - and Markermeer was very high. Wind from southern and eastern directions pushed the water up the low-lying outer dike area.