Phoenix 24
The country’s hottest summer on record exposed extreme heat as a widening public-health emergency.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Belgium recorded 2,935 more deaths than statistically expected during three successive summer heatwaves, according to the national public-health institute Sciensano. The increase represented approximately 22.6 percent excess mortality across the affected periods and coincided with unprecedented temperatures, unusually warm nights and the country’s most serious modern wildfire.
The most severe episode occurred between June 18 and July 3, when 2,035 additional deaths were registered. Mortality was almost 49 percent above the expected level, making it the deadliest heatwave period documented by Sciensano since its monitoring began in 2000. Maximum temperatures remained close to 30 degrees Celsius for ten consecutive days and reached approximately 35 degrees on three of them.
A second period of extreme heat produced 535 excess deaths between July 4 and 17, while another 365 were recorded during the third heatwave from July 28 to August 16. The final episode represented a smaller seven-percent increase but coincided with the beginning of a major wildfire. At Belgium’s reference weather station in Uccle, the average summer temperature reached 20.3 degrees Celsius, 2.4 degrees above the recent historical mean.
Excess mortality does not mean that every additional death certificate identified heat as the direct cause. The measure compares observed deaths with the number expected under normal conditions. Heat can contribute indirectly by aggravating cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney diseases, disrupting medication responses and preventing the body from cooling at night. Older adults, people with chronic illnesses, isolated residents and those living in poorly ventilated housing face the greatest risks, although significant mortality was also observed among younger age groups.
The figures reinforce calls for Belgium to expand heat-warning systems, protect outdoor workers, adapt hospitals and care homes, and improve access to cool public spaces. Building design will also become increasingly important as summers grow hotter in countries whose homes were constructed primarily to retain warmth. Extreme heat may leave fewer visible ruins than floods or fires, but Belgium’s mortality data show that its human consequences can be equally devastating.
Lo visible y lo oculto, en contexto. / The visible and the hidden, in context.