The national heatwave brought to an end by Tuesday’s storms lasted 13 days in total and set several new records, according to figures from the De Bilt weather station near Utrecht.

For a heatwave to be official, the temperature in De Bilt must top 25 Celsius for at least five days in a row, and 30 Celsius on three of those.

The warm weather really began on August 5 and topped 30 Celsius in De Bilt on eight days – a unique record. This was also the warmest week on record, with an average temperature of 33.1 Celsius.

NOS weatherman Peter Kuipers Munneke says there has been an increase in heatwaves in recent years. In the 121 years since official records began, there were 29 heatwaves in total, but 14 of them took place in the last 21 years.

The regional heatwave in the south of the country is still ongoing and the temperature is set to pick up nationwide again on Wednesday and Thursday. The weekend will be cooler, with sunny spells and showers, the KNMI said.