Belgium has recorded approximately 2,000 deaths resulting from an intense heatwave that swept across the country between late June and early July. The national public health institute, Sciensano, revised its previous figures on Friday to reflect this updated toll.

According to the revised data, the number of excess deaths—those beyond what would be expected during a normal period—reached approximately 2,000 between June 18 and July 3. The institute had previously reported a figure of 1,747.

Sciensano explained that the increase is attributed to delays in death registration and the inclusion of two additional days of data in their analysis, noting that mortality rates remained higher than normal for several days even after the heatwave had officially ended.

Among the country’s regions, Wallonia was the most severely affected, followed by Brussels and Flanders.

According to the public health institute, this is the highest number of excess deaths recorded in Belgium during a single heatwave since the institute began tracking such data in 2000.

The previous record was set during the heatwave of August 2020, which resulted in 1,557 excess deaths.
Source: Anadolu Agency