Belgium faces a heatwave in the coming days, yellow warning issued

Belgium could experience its first heatwave of the year, according to the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI), which has activated its “heatwave and ozone peaks” plan.

It has also issued a yellow warning; an indication that the public needs to be aware of potentially disruptive weather on its way. 

Temperatures are forecast to rise to 31°C on Thursday, 34°C on Friday and 37°C on Sunday and Monday.

For an official heatwave to be declared in Belgium, the maximum temperature needs to exceed 25°C for at least five consecutive days, including at least three days at 30°C.

“We remain relatively cautious regarding these figures, but they certainly put us very, very high,” climatologist Pascal Mormal told RTBF.

Previous periods of extremely high temperatures in June occurred in 1947 and 1976, but the month is not the most conducive for severe heatwaves, he added.

Photo: ©RMI