Though August often ushers in some cooler weather in Belgium compared to previous summer months, high temperatures persist as another heat surge arrives today (Wednesday).
Temperatures are expected to reach or exceed 32°C in several provinces (and very locally elsewhere), the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) forecasts, issuing a warning for all day Wednesday and Thursday.
"In particular, in the province of Luxembourg, this will also be the case on Thursday. Take precautions during this heat peak," an RMI report read on Wednesday morning.
In recent weeks, Belgium has been periodically engulfed in heat. Two weeks ago, a high-pressure zone over Central Europe combined with extremely warm air from the Iberian Peninsula. This led to the RMI announcing code orange, and later red, for heat (now, it has activated code yellow).
Although this didn't meet the official criteria to be classed as a heatwave, temperatures above 30°C were recorded on two days, with the mercury rising to 40°C in Flemish Brabant.
Weather in coming days
Wednesday will be sunny with some clouds, while temperatures will reach a maximum of 25°C on the coast to around 33°C in the centre of the country. On Thursday, the sun will often be veiled by high clouds, while a few (thunder) showers will be possible, especially in the north and centre of Belgium.
At sea, temperatures will drop to 22°C; in the centre of the country they will remain around 30°C and reach up to 35°C in Belgian Lorraine (south of Luxembourg). As has previously been the case following periods of heat in the country, the weather will switch by Thursday night.
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"Very warm air from the southwest is flowing over our regions. It moves in front of an undulating disturbance (cold front) over the British Isles. In the course of Thursday, this air mass will become unstable, resulting in thunderstorms," RMI noted on its website.
The actual cold front will pass through Belgium on Thursday night or Friday morning and will be followed by considerably cooler air. This will be accompanied by rain or showers with a chance of local thunderstorms, but by the afternoon, it will become dry again, with temperatures around 25°C in most of the country, and around 20°C at the coast.
