Rik Thijs, deputy mayor for public space, greenery and water in nearby Eindhoven [Netherlands] said private and public initiatives were needed to adapt to the changing weather. “Our sewage system cannot cope with the rainfall that is coming, and we cannot increase its capacity, so we need to do things differently,” he said. “This means that you need to capture as much as possible on the surface.”

This might mean plans to bring an old river, the Gender, back to the surface, “wadi” pools that can hold water during heavy rain, and incorporating green roofs and rainwater storage into housing developments. “The Netherlands is very vulnerable because we are, of course, one large delta,” he said.