As the temperature has risen above 30°C on Monday afternoon, the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) has officially proclaimed the first heatwave of the year in Belgium.
For the third day in a row, the temperatures registered at the RMI's weather measuring station in the Brussels municipality of Uccle surpassed 30°C, and no significant temperature change is expected over the next few days.
"The first heat wave of 2023 is a fact. The heat is strongly felt in cities: extremely high temperatures can be higher than in surrounding rural areas due to the urban heat island effect," the RMI said on Twitter.
As the threshold of 30°C was crossed again, the tropical weather of the last few days is now officially a heatwave: five consecutive summer days (at least 25°C), of which at least three are tropical days (at least 30°C).
This year, the first heatwave is coming relatively early, as was the case in 1998 and 1922. By way of comparison: last year, Belgium experienced only one heatwave, and not until August.
