The temperature at national weather centre De Bilt near Hilversum was over 25 degrees Celsius at 12 noon on Thursday, making the heatwave official.

To be classified as a heatwave, the temperature must be over 25 degrees Celsius for five consecutive days, with three of them over 30 degrees.

This is the first heatwave since 2006 when there were two, one in June and one in July.

The longest heatwave was in 1975. It began on July 29 and the weather remained over 25 degrees Celsius for 18 successive days, with six days over 30 degrees.

This one is set to continue until at least Sunday.

Parts of the country, particularly Limburg and Brabant, have been hit by thunderstorms with up to 22 millimetres of rain falling in a short period.