Published: 6 January 2009 11:15 | Changed: 6 January 2009 14:58
By Radio Netherlands Worldwide in partnership with NRC International
The Netherlands, which has got used to mild wet winters in recent decades, is shivering through an extended period of extremely cold weather at the moment. Recently, there have been reports about the positive sides to the cold snap, such as the opportunity it provides for skating outdoors, a traditional activity in the Netherlands. However, it is also bringing with it problems.
The continuing cold has caused holes to appear in the surface of the A6 motorway between Lelystad, in the central Netherlands, and Muiden, near Amsterdam. Two lanes have had to be closed at the junction near Almere and it is not clear how soon the necessary repairs will be completed, ANP news agency reports.
Breakdown services are deploying extra staff to deal with the increased number of calls from stranded motorists. On Monday, the ANWB motoring organisation, which runs the largest breakdown service, responded to 5,500 calls from motorists, 2,000 more than on a normal day.
The icy conditions have led to special measures being taken by a number of organisations. Homeless people in the province of Groningen have been obliged to move into emergency accommodation. Rubbish collections have been suspended by some local authorities. The icy roads and pavements are considered to hazardous for council workers.
Last night, a temperature of nearly minus-15 Celsius was recorded at Maastrich-Aachen Airport, in the extreme south of the Netherlands. Tonight, even lower temperatures are being forecast, with the thermometer falling to 17 or 18 below freezing in some places, according to the KNMI weather bureau.
