Code Red is the highest weather warning the KNMI, the Dutch national weather institute, can issue. It is reserved for extreme weather that can have such a major impact on society that it becomes disruptive. This is the first time it has ever been declared in the Netherlands because of heat, with inland temperatures expected between 36 and 39 degrees, and locally up to 40. The decision is not taken lightly: the KNMI makes it together with a weather impact team that includes the police, fire services and the National Crisis Centre.
For us, this means one thing above all: keeping every emergency service and every bit of capacity available, and acting from the awareness that this is a crisis situation. We are in continuous contact with the local emergency services and the municipality to put measures in place that fit these weather conditions.
Code Red is a national measure that applies across the whole country, and even though we are right on the coast, the same rules apply to us. We have every reason to respect them. This is not about caution for its own sake, but about keeping emergency services available and keeping you, our visitors, safe.
