- Belgium experienced 1,747 excess deaths from June 18 to July 1 due to a heatwave
- This is the highest excess mortality recorded in Belgium since 2000
- The excess mortality rate during this period was 47 per cent
An intense heatwave in Belgium caused significantly more deaths than usual in June, health authorities said Thursday, revising previous figures, the highest excess mortality ever since records began in 2000.
The country saw 1,747 excess deaths during the June 18 to July 1 period, the Sciensano public health institute said, up from the 1,222 estimate for June 18-29 published last week.
That was an excess mortality rate of 47 per cent, it said.
Although Belgium did not officially break its temperature records for June, readings hit 35C in Brussels for several consecutive days, and climbed locally to between 38 degrees Celsius and 40 degrees Celsius.
The peak in excess mortality was reached on June 27 and 28.
A new heatwave is expected in Belgium in the coming days, with highs potentially exceeding 30 degrees Celsius for five consecutive days starting Saturday.
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