Read our Privacy noticeJeroen Wouda and Dirk Boom meticulously probe the bone-dry surface of a Dutch dike with metal rods, scanning parched grass for any green patches that might betray a leak. This widespread drought has already fuelled raging wildfires in France and Spain and driven the Danube and Rhine rivers to record low levels. The volunteers “are our eyes and ears on the dike”, Mr Van Duijvendijk said. Frans Schilte has seen the summer periods of low water levels get longer in recent years. “Throughout the year, we have enough water in the Netherlands, there’s no shortage,” said Vince Kaandorp, a groundwater hydrologist at Deltares, an independent Dutch water research institute.