Belgium recorded nearly 3,000 excess deaths during successive heat waves observed since June, according to data released Thursday by Sciensano, the country's national public health institute.
The deaths were distributed across three distinct periods of elevated temperatures. The first heat wave, from June 18 to July 3, resulted in 2,035 excess deaths, representing a 48.8 percent increase in mortality rates. The second heat wave, spanning July 4 to July 17, saw 535 excess deaths, or a 14.8 percent increase. The third period of extreme heat, from July 28 to August 16, recorded 365 excess deaths, corresponding to a 7 percent increase in mortality rates.
Data from Sciensano's Belgium Mortality Monitoring System (Be-MOMO) provided the basis for these figures. The institute confirmed that this summer was the hottest recorded in Belgium's history.
The excess deaths from the third heat wave added to the approximately 2,600 deaths that occurred during the two preceding heat waves, bringing the total to nearly 3,000 additional deaths across the three periods.