Saturday 27 June was the second deadliest day of the century, according to figures published on Thursday by the national statistics office, Statbel. Belgium was in the grip of an unprecedented heatwave at the time.
On 27 and 28 June this year, there were approximately 650 and 640 deaths respectively.
This figure had only been exceeded during the first wave of Covid-19: on 8 and 10 April 2020, 641 and 675 deaths were recorded in a single day respectively.
From 17 to 28 June inclusive, Belgium was hit by a prolonged heatwave. At its peak, temperatures approached 40°C.
The public health institute Sciensano had already announced that the excess mortality linked to this heatwave amounted to more than 2,000 deaths.
Statbel emphasises that these are provisional mortality figures for the month of June 2026.
These figures are taken from an initial provisional overview of the number of deaths, compiled on the basis of an extract from the National Register dated 18 July 2026.
Marked differences were also observed between the regions and certain Belgian districts. According to the initial provisional mortality figures, 9,741 people died during the month of June 2026.
There were 5,351 deaths in Flanders, 3,582 in Wallonia and 808 in the Brussels-Capital Region.
