More extremes

Climate change continues. Weather conditions are becoming more extreme. Storms from the 'wrong' direction combined with heavy rainfall increase the risk of flooding, especially in areas outside the dikes. This happened in 2021 when Rijkswaterstaat had just raised the water level in the IJsselmeer and Markermeer to the summer level (to prevent drought later on), and a spring storm also arose. And it happened again at the end of 2023/beginning of 2024 after a long period of heavy rainfall, high river flows, and few opportunities to drain the water towards the Wadden Sea, causing the water level in the IJsselmeer and Markermeer to rise very high. Winds from the south and east pushed the water into the low-lying areas outside the dikes.