At around 11am on Friday morning it was confirmed, for the first time since records began there is a national heatwave in Belgium in September. A message posted on the social media platform X (the former Twitter) by David Dehenauw of the Royal Meteorologic Institute (KMI) told us all we needed to know. Temperatures at the Institute’s Ukkel (Brussels) weather centre had reached 25°C.
In Belgium there is a national heatwave once maximum temperature at the Ukkel Weather Centre have topped 25°C on at least 5 consecutive days, during 3 of which a maximum temperature of at least 30°C must have been recorded.
On Monday temperatures in Ukkel exceeded 25°C. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday temperatures rose to above 30°C (30.9°C on Tuesday, 30.1°C on Wednesday and 30.2°C on Thursday). Late on Friday morning temperatures rose to above 25°C and the national heatwave became official.
The September heatwave is the second national heatwave of 2023. The first national heatwave of the year got underway on 8 June and lasted for 10 days.