Thousands take the plunge in New Year swims

New Year swimSome 10,000 people took part in the traditional Scheveningen New Year’s swim in the North Sea.

The sea temperature was 7 Celsius, slightly warmer than normal for the time of year, according to weather forecaster weeronline.nl.

The air temperature was 4.4 Celsius but felt chillier because of the wind.

This was the 56th time the New Year’s swim has taken place. Last year’s was the warmest on record, with a sea temperature of 7.5 Celsius.

Smoked sausage and soup maker Unox, which organises many of the swims, expects around 50,000 people to take part this year. Apart from Scheveningen, swims take place at a further 137 locations nationwide.

Pictures from this year’s swims

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation