Monday night was the coldest night in Belgium so far this winter. Temperatures dropped well below freezing across the country, with the exception of the port of Zeebrugge.
Belgium experienced the coldest night of this winter on Monday night. In Elsenborn in Butgenbach, one of the villages with the highest altitude in Belgium, a temperature of -15.5°C was recorded, meteorologist David Dehenauw confirmed on social media.
In Uccle, where the main weather station of the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) is located, the lowest temperature measured was -3.9°C.
"Only at the port of Zeebrugge did temperatures remain narrowly positive at 0.2°C," Dehenauw said. This can be explained by the fact that the weather station here is almost completely surrounded by water.
Risk of poisoning
The RMI has warned people that there is a heightened risk of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning due to a temperature inversion. "This is an atmospheric condition where a layer of warm air slides over a layer of cold air at the Earth's surface," it noted.
This causes the temperature to rise with altitude, rather than to decrease. "Under this warmer layer of air, emitted gases, such as CO accumulate. In such conditions, there is too little wind to remove these gases. The danger here lies in poor airflow to remove CO from living spaces. Chimneys fail to function adequately as a result."
Forecast for coming days
Tuesday morning will still be freezing, with local frost and patches of ice. Drivers were warned that road conditions could be dangerous. The weather will remain dry with sunshine and high clouds. Temperatures will remain low inland, between 0°C and 3°C, and around 6°C to 7°C by the sea.
On Tuesday night, some drizzle may fall and there is also a chance of fog. Temperatures are expected to be slightly warmer than on Monday, sitting between -4°C in the south and 6°C by the sea. Wednesday will be mostly grey and misty with occasional drizzle and temperatures of 3°C to 4°C inland and even 8°C in the west.
Thursday will start out grey, with local fog banks, but clearings will appear during the day. Maximum temperatures will range from 2°C to 6°C.
