The sun was extremely rare in January: according to figures from the Royal Observatory in Uccle, it appeared for only 37 hours and 56 minutes, making the month “abnormally dark”, the Royal Meteorological Institute (IRM) indicated on Friday. The level of humidity in the air, 85%, was exceptionally high. The normal rate is 85%.
Sunnier weather was recorded around the 20th of the month, as a result of which it did not break the record for the darkest January ever. That record is held by January 2018, which recorded 26 hours and 59 minutes of sun, whereas the normal amount is 58 hours and 34 minutes.
The Uccle Observatory registered an average temperature of 3°C for last month, while there were 21 rainy days and six days of snow, which corresponds to the normal monthly averages.
The highest temperature in Belgium for the month of January was recorded in Kruishoutem (West Flanders), where the thermometer went up to 11°C on the 13th. The lowest temperature was -15.8°C, recorded in Elsenborn (Butgenbach), in the eastern cantons.
The Brussels Times
