The continuing drought and heat have caused a water shortage in the Netherlands, ​the Dutch government said on Thursday.

Rivers are ‌bringing historically low levels of water into the Netherlands, where it has also hardly rained in ​recent weeks.

Measures are therefore needed to ​evenly distribute supplies and meet rising demand ⁠for water, the government said.

The country had ​moved from a situation with a “possible” shortage to ​an “actual” shortage, and that situation was expected to remain in the weeks to come, it added.

The situation ​does not affect the supply of drinking ​water, as stocks had already been increased before the ‌summer.

Ships ⁠will likely face delays as locks will be opened less frequently to limit the inflow of salt water.

Irrigation will also be limited ​in various ​places.

According to ⁠the Reuters Climate Monitor, the average high across Western Europe is forecast ​to be 28.7 degrees Celsius (83.66 degrees ​Fahrenheit) ⁠on Thursday, which is 5.4 degrees above the normal high for July 16 from 1961 ⁠to 1990. The average high ​in the Netherlands of 24.3 degrees is 4.5 degrees above ​normal.