Adapting to Climate Change
On this page, you’ll find information about adapting to climate change. You can read about what you can do yourself and what measures the municipality is taking to address flooding, heat, and drought. In this way, we’re working together to create a safe and livable environment, both now and in the future.
The Earth is warming up
The Earth is warming, and the climate is changing. The main cause is the emission of greenhouse gases, such as CO₂ and methane. As a result, global temperatures are rising.
Negative consequences
On average, temperatures are rising, and heat waves are becoming more frequent. In hot weather, you can become overheated and experience symptoms. This is called heat stress.
Due to global warming, wet and dry weather are alternating with increasing extremes. Prolonged droughts lead to water shortages for agriculture and nature. Plants dry out, and both groundwater and surface water become saltier. Crops fail. Additionally, ships cannot navigate when water levels are low, and drinking water shortages may occur.
Sea levels are also rising. As a result, the risk of flooding is increasing. This can lead to damage to buildings and roads and, in some cases, to casualties.
Measures
We mitigate the impact in two ways:
- We emit fewer greenhouse gases, for example by biking more often, using public transportation, and switching to solar and wind energy. This is called climate mitigation.
- In addition, we are adapting to the changing climate. We are adjusting our environment and our behavior so that we can better cope with heat, drought, and flooding. This is called climate adaptation.
What can I do do?
Against Drought and Flooding
There are many things you can do yourself to collect and use water more effectively:
- Replace tiles with greenery. Plants and grass absorb rainwater.
- Disconnect the downspout and let rainwater flow directly into your yard or rain barrel. This reduces the load on the sewer system and replenishes the groundwater.
- Install a green roof: it collects rainwater and slows down runoff.
- Set up a rain barrel to collect rainwater and use it later to water your plants.
- Check out additional tips on the Ons Water website at for ways to save water, such as when cleaning, doing laundry, and using the toilet.
Against the heat
These tips will help you keep your home and garden cooler:
- Replace tiles with greenery: a green garden stays cooler than a tiled garden.
- Plant a tree to provide extra shade and coolness in your yard.
- Use sun protection, such as screens or awnings, to keep the heat out.
What do we do?
The municipality Voorne aan Zee measures to address the effects of climate change, such as flooding, heat waves, and droughts.
Measures in Practice
- We're replacing tiles with greenery so that rainwater can seep into the ground more easily.
- We separate rainwater from wastewater, so that rainwater no longer goes to the wastewater treatment plant but instead seeps into the ground or flows into surface water.
- We identify risks in Map a stress test. This allows us to identify areas at risk of flooding, heat, and drought, and to develop plans for a safe and flood-resistant environment.
- The municipality is following the Delta Program for Spatial Adaptation. The goal is to better protect the Netherlands against flooding, heat, and drought by 2050.