The 2020 Nitrate Report: nitrate levels in the water on farms on the rise again since 2017 More nitrogen and phosphorus have been ending up in the soil on farms since 2015. As a result, nitrate concentrations have been rising since 2017 in leachates and ditch water from those farms.
Last winter’s flu epidemic was short and mild. And then COVID-19 arrived. The flu epidemic in the winter of 2019/2020 was mild and lasted only 5 weeks.
Improvement of air quality continues In 2019, the calculated concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10) were below the European limit values in almost the whole of the Netherlands. Locally, the limit value for nitrogen dioxide is still being exceeded.
Population screening programmes temporarily on hold Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the health care capacity in the Netherlands is expected to come under severe pressure in the coming period.
Interim injunction decision Nitrogen In an interim injunction proceeding between Mesdag Zuivelfonds, Stichting Stikstofclaim and RIVM, the court has ruled that RIVM must decide on the availability and disclosure of data before 1 Janua
Exploratory RIVM calculations of nitrogen measures The Dutch government announced its plans for the first steps in tackling the nitrogen deposition issue.
Openness about nitrogen There is concern about the current approach to nitrogen and the proposed measures; these concerns have been expressed in Dutch society as a whole and amongst farmers in particular.
Mild 2018-2019 influenza epidemic The annual influenza epidemic in the winter of 2018-2019 was less severe than the year before. Approximately 400,000 people have had the flu.
Higher mortality during heatwave in July in the Netherlands During the last heatwave, almost 400 more deaths were reported than was expected on overage for that period. The additional deaths mainly concerned persons aged 75 years and older.
National Heat Plan no longer in effect as of July 29th As of Monday, 29 July, the National Heat Plan is no longer in effect. The Heat Plan had been active from July 23rd until July 28th. Never before has it been as hot as last week in the Netherlands.