Gerrit Hiemstra

About Gerrit Hiemstra

Gerrit Hiemstra is one of the Netherlands’ most well-known meteorologists. He worked from 1998 to 2023 as a weather presenter for the NOS Journaal.

After leaving NOS in 2023, he founded the company Oarshûs together with architect Doeke van Wieren and energy advisor Nicolaas van Everdingen. They came together while designing Gerrit’s home in Balk, Friesland. This house was made with lime and hemp, is energy-producing, and optimally bio-based. After the successful design and construction process, they decided to join forces in Oarshûs. The mission of Oarshûs is to help others build climate-neutral bio-based homes.

With Oarshûs, we want to make sustainable building accessible and show that it is indeed possible: designing differently, organizing differently, and building differently. Our goal is to reduce the negative impact of building on people, nature, and climate.

Additionally, he is co-owner of Weather Impact B.V. in Amersfoort, which he founded in 2015 with hydrologist Arnold Lobbrecht. Weather Impact specializes in applying knowledge and techniques in meteorology and climate change in national and international projects. In international projects, applications are developed to help small farmers in developing countries improve their production and standard of living. This work is carried out in collaboration with national and international partners. The projects are implemented in various countries in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Hiemstra has been working in meteorology since completing his studies in Agrometeorology at Wageningen University in 1986. He worked at Meteo Consult and became head of the operational meteorological service of the KNMI at Schiphol in 1995. Besides his TV activities, he was also the owner of DLV Meteo, which later merged into WeerOnline, one of the first and eventually one of the largest weather websites. That company was acquired in 2009.

As a side activity, Hiemstra is a member of the Ried fan Kommissarissen of Omroep Fryslân.

In 2021, Gerrit Hiemstra received the Machiavelli Prize. The Machiavelli Prize has been awarded annually since 1989 to individuals or organizations that have made a special contribution to communication between politics, government, and citizens. The Machiavelli Foundation awarded him the prize for making climate change and its consequences clear to a large audience.

Gerrit Hiemstra is a serious and driven speaker. He tells his story in understandable language and captivates a broad audience. His topics include climate change, climate-neutral building, and entrepreneurship. What is the current state of the climate? What do changes in the climate mean for society? What societal changes might we face? What can we do to reduce our carbon footprint? How does this all affect your future job? And does climate change also offer us new opportunities? These and other questions can be addressed in his presentation.