Belgium’s Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) predicts that this year’s summer will be warmer than the average summer, also claiming that traditional seasons have been disturbed and upset by global warming.
Meteorologist Pascal Mormal predicts the summer of 2022 to be hot and dry, unlike last year’s dramatic season that saw heavy rainfall and severe flooding in parts of the country, he told RTBF in a morning programme.
He confirms that these phenomena are not exceptional in themselves, but that the repetition of erratic changes in weather and storms is worrying. The impact of global warming on the climate means increasingly long summers and shorter, less intense winters.
The RMI rules out the risk of a major drought, as regular rainfall has made it possible to limit the damage and prevent water reserves from running dry. However, the summer will be warmer than average and be witness to stormy periods as well.
The meteorologist explains that these weather predictions are a clear indication of global warming, which has been threatening the planet for several decades. The repetition, intensification and acceleration of the phenomena are consistently on the rise.
The MRI has recorded increasingly more significant heat waves for 30 years. While heatwaves would take place once every four years, nearly 20 heat waves have occurred over that same time period recently, Mormal said.
Water scarcity
Meanwhile, Belgium has been pestered by droughts and water scarcity, as this year’s spring was the second-hottest on record. With increasingly long, dry periods that start earlier in the year, the country’s already chronically deprived groundwaters are negatively affected.
Droughts have in fact been so severe that the country has asked the EU to ignore certain agricultural rules, such as paying certain bonuses towards the improvement of environmental performance on farms.
In order to prevent environment-related health risks, the Wallonia government has released €11 million for two projects relating to indoor air quality and environmental health as part of its Covid-19 recovery plan.
