Your heat survival checklist for this week

It's officially a heatwave, and let's be honest: the Netherlands is not built for this. Our national plan for extreme heat mostly involves complaining about it and buying a fan that's already sold out. Temperatures are climbing into the high thirties this week, and your home is going to feel it. Here's a quick checklist to actually get through it.

What is Nationaal Hitteplan?

If you've seen the news this week, you might have noticed phrases like "code oranje" or "Nationaal Hitteplan". The Nationaal Hitteplan is the Netherlands' official national heat response plan, run by the RIVM (the Dutch national institute for public health). It gets activated whenever a prolonged period of heat is expected. It's not just for a single warm day, but several days in a row where temperatures stay above 27°C, taking into account humidity and night-time temperatures too.

This week, it's active for the whole country. When the plan is active, healthcare workers, care homes, and volunteers are formally called upon to keep a closer eye on vulnerable people such as the elderly, young children, and people with chronic conditions.

Alongside the Hitteplan, the KNMI (the Dutch meteorological institute) issues colour-coded weather warnings that indicate how serious the situation is:

• Code yellow means warm weather that requires extra attention, particularly for vulnerable groups. Going about your daily life is fine, but be sensible about it. Stay hydrated, avoid the midday sun, and check in on older neighbours or relatives.
• Code orange means the heat poses a risk to everyone, not just vulnerable groups. This is when the advice gets more serious: avoid strenuous activity during the hottest hours, stay out of direct sunlight, and make sure you're drinking enough water throughout the day. This week, code orange has been issued for large parts of the Netherlands.
• Code red means extreme heat with a high risk of dangerous situations for the general public. This is rare, but when it happens, the advice is to stay indoors as much as possible, especially between midday and early evening.

You can check the current code for your area anytime via knmi.nl. 

Living in the south of the Netherlands? Time for a trip north, for example to Texel! The weather is a bit more forgiving up there.

Simple tips to stay cool this week

• Close everything before 9:00
  This is the single most important thing you can do. Shut your windows, blinds, and curtains before the heat of the day kicks in. The cool air that built up overnight is your biggest asset. Thick curtains work best, but even a bedsheet draped over a window can block a surprising amount of heat and sunlight. If you have shutters or external blinds, even better: close them first, then the window behind them.
  
  
• Create a cross-breeze after sunset
  Once the outside temperature drops below what's inside, usually somewhere around 21:00 or 22:00, throw everything open. Open windows on opposite sides of your home to create a through-draught that pulls the warm air out and replaces it with cooler night air. Place a fan near an open window to speed up the process. The goal is to get your home as cool as possible before morning, so you start the next day with a head start.
  
  
• Switch off what you're not using
  Every device in your home that's switched on is quietly making your rooms warmer. Your laptop, TV, and chargers left in sockets all generate heat. Unplug what you can when you're not using it. And tonight is absolutely not the night to bake a lasagna or run the dishwasher at midday. Think cold meals: salads, sandwiches, leftovers, or anything from the supermarket that requires zero cooking. If you do need to cook, do it early in the morning or late in the evening when the temperature outside has already dropped.
  
  
• Get out of your home during the hottest hours
  Between 12:00 and 17:00, your home will be at its warmest, and so will you if you stay in it. Your body generates its own heat, and that adds up. The smartest thing you can do is simply leave. Some great spots to cool down are the library, a museum, the supermarket, shopping malls, and the cinema. Luckily, we've got swimming pools and recreational lakes almost everywhere in the Netherlands. 
  
  Many Dutch municipalities are also opening official cooling centers (koelteplekken) this week. These designated spots are places where you can sit, drink water, use the toilet, and cool down for free. Amsterdam, for example, has opened twelve locations across the city as part of its official Hitteplan. Check your city's website or the GGD website to find the nearest one to you.
  
  
• Move your life to the coolest room
  Not all rooms heat up equally. Spend some time figuring out which room in your home stays coolest during the day. Often, this is a north-facing room, a room on a lower floor, or one with the least direct sun exposure. Set yourself up there for the day: laptop, water bottle, fan. It might not be your usual spot, but it'll feel dramatically better than sitting in a sun-drenched living room.
  
  
• Set up your fan the smart way
  A fan doesn't actually cool the air. It cools you by speeding up evaporation on your skin. So, point it directly at yourself, not at the wall or ceiling. For an extra boost: place a bowl of ice or a frozen water bottle in front of it. The air it pushes over the cold surface will feel noticeably cooler on your skin. One fan near a window pulling cool night air in, and one pointed at you during the day works best!
  
  
• Cool your body, not just the room 
  Your home is going to be warm no matter what. So focus on keeping yourself cool rather than fighting a losing battle with the room temperature. Splash cold water on your wrists, the back of your neck, and your temples. These are the spots where your blood vessels are closest to the skin, so cooling them has a quick effect. Take a lukewarm shower rather than an ice-cold one: very cold water causes your blood vessels to contract, which can actually make you feel warmer once you're out. Drink water consistently throughout the day, even when you don't feel thirsty. During a heatwave, thirst kicks in late.
  
  
• Prepare your bed in advance 
  Sleeping during a heatwave is its own challenge, and your bed is often the hottest place in the house by bedtime. A few tricks that actually work: put your pillowcase in a plastic bag and leave it in the freezer for 30 minutes before you go to sleep! It stays cool for long enough to help you drift off. Switch to your lightest sheets, or skip the duvet entirely and use just a thin cotton cover. Sleep on the lowest floor of your home if you can, since heat rises. And a fan pointed at your feet works better than you might expect, as it keeps air moving around you all night without blowing directly in your face.
  
  

Of course, a combination of these tips will work better than any one of them alone. Start with the morning routine, close everything early, and the rest of the day becomes much more manageable. Stay cool, drink plenty of water, and check in on your neighbours, especially the older ones. You've got this!

Shut your windows, blinds, and curtains before the heat of the day kicks in.