This is evidenced by the figures that the weather institute KNMI recently added to its list Climate dashboard. The results of wind measurements can now be found at four different locations there: Schiphol, Eindhoven, Eelde and Cabauw. The Schiphol series has the longest history; There are wind measurements dating back to 1968. The measurements began at Kabau near Utrecht in 1988, and are the last of the four.
But overall, wind strength appears to be decreasing, according to KNMI, by about 2 percent every ten years. The main reason for this decline is the roughening of the landscape due to buildings and afforestation, according to KNMI. This slows down the air flow. This is also one of the reasons why the winds are on average stronger on the coast than in the interior. According to the Meteorological Institute, the effect of global warming on wind strength in the Netherlands is so far minimal.
It is also clear that the reason at play here is structural from the fact that a decrease in wind strength of 2 percent per decade occurs in all seasons. Moreover, the same pattern is observed in other European countries, and on other continents such as North America and Asia, says KNMI. As the wind above the ground encounters more and more obstacles there.
