The sea will be cold over the long weekend, the Intercommunal Coastal Rescue Service of West Flanders (IKWV) warned on Friday. Organisation secretary An Beun predicts the water temperature to be "very cold for swimming" at just under 15°C.
Despite warmer conditions on land, the temperature of the water is yet to warm up and remains at around 14 to 15°C. "We generally advise against swimming below 15°C as there is a risk of cold shock," explained Beun.
Cold shock occurs when a person is immersed in very cold water. In extreme cases it can lead to a person's heart stopping as blood vessels close to the skin tighten, restricting blood flow. If the heart rate is also increased, the heart must work harder against narrower vessels. The danger can affect young people as well.
Those wishing to take a dip are advised not to swim for too long and to warm up quickly afterwards. "We would like to stress once again that it is important to swim in supervised areas," the coastal rescue secretary stated. "In De Panne, Middelkerke, Bredene and Zeebrugge, there are no beach lifeguards this weekend. In all the other coastal municipalities, at least one lifeguard station is manned (six out of 10, editor's note)."
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From 17 June, at least one lifeguard station will be open in each coastal commune. From 1 July, all areas in all coastal communes will be monitored.
