June 2023 is set to be the hottest on record in Belgium, according to David Dehenauw, head of the Royal Institute of Meteorology (IRM).
On his Twitter account, the senior meteorologist said that temperatures recorded in the capital have reached historic highs in recent weeks. Temperatures regularly peaked at over 30°C in many parts of the country.
Juin 2023 sera le mois de juin le plus chaud à Uccle depuis 1833, avec une température moyenne d’un peu plus que 20 degrés, pulvérisant le record de 1976 et 2003 (19,3 degrés).
— David Dehenauw (@DDehenauw) June 28, 2023
Tweet translation: "June 2023 will be the hottest month of June in Uccle since 1833, with an average temperature of just over 20°C, smashing the 1976 and 2003 record (19.3°C)."
This is also the earliest ever heatwave recorded from the IRM's measuring station in Uccle. For comparison, the normal average temperature in the typically warmer months of July and August are 18.7°C and 18.4°C, respectively.
Another record could also be set at the end of this month, this time for the number of hours of sunshine for the month of June. The record currently stands at 302.3 hours, which was recorded in June 1976. As of 25 June, Belgium had already recorded 279 hours and 36 minutes of sunshine.