Amsterdammers are being warned to keep of the ice in the city centre because the rising temperatures have made the quality even more unreliable.

The last time people could skate on the canals was in 2012, when the period of heavy frost lasted longer and the ice was of better quality.

On Saturday evening, a police diver was brought in after reports were made that someone had gone through the ice on the Bloemgracht in the city centre. But that proved to be a false alarm.

Elsewhere in the Netherlands, the outdoor ice rinks say they will remain open as long as the ice holds, but rising temperatures have brought the thaw to most of the country.

The temperature will hit several degrees above zero in the north but it could be as warm as nine degrees in Limburg, the KNMI weather bureau said on Sunday.