Belgium Heatwave: Schools Close, Trains Swelter, Zoo Chills

Belgium is in the grip of a severe heatwave, with temperatures expected to reach up to 37°C inland this week. The official heatwave was confirmed on June 21 when Ukkel recorded its fifth consecutive day above 25°C, with three of those days exceeding 30°C. The scorching conditions have triggered a cascade of responses across Belgian society—from school closures and train cancellations to zoos offering frozen treats for animals and supermarkets waging an ice cream price war.

Schools Adapt to Extreme Heat

The municipality of Etterbeek, in the Brussels region, has taken the most decisive educational measure, suspending afternoon classes in all communal schools from June 22 to 26. According to RTBF, exams will be maintained but held exclusively in the morning, and childcare will be provided for parents who cannot pick up their children. Mayor Vincent De Wolf stated that “the circumstances are indeed not suitable for teaching in an optimal way.”

Other school networks are taking a more cautious approach. Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) said schools should remain open but use “common sense,” while Bruno Vanobbergen, director-general of Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen, confirmed that schools in his network would adapt activities rather than close. The GO! Shil School in Mechelen is allowing absences due to heat and asking parents to bring fans and water bottles.

Commuters Face Sweltering Conditions

For the millions of Belgians who rely on rail travel, the heatwave has exposed a long-standing infrastructure gap. According to VRT NWS, one in five NMBS trains still lacks air conditioning. Some peak-hour P-trains have been cancelled entirely because they overheat while parked in the sun between rush periods.

NMBS spokesperson Dimitri Temmerman explained that trains have an average lifespan of 40 years, and the oldest models—built before the 1990s when air conditioning became standard—will not be fully phased out until around 2032. Passenger organization TreinTramBus has sharply criticized the railway company’s communication. Spokesperson Peter Meukens told VRT NWS: “They should have the decency to communicate which P-trains are affected. Now passengers have to check their route themselves. That’s absurd.”

Zoos Offer Creative Cooling

Belgium’s zoos are finding innovative ways to help their animals cope with the heat. At ZOO Planckendael in Muizen (Mechelen), keepers are preparing frozen treats—frozen fruit salad for apes and frozen meat blocks for lions. As Het Laatste Nieuws reports, spokesperson Amanda Wielemans explained: “These colorful ice pops help not only to cool down, but are also a form of enrichment.” Both Zoo Antwerp and Planckendael are also spraying animals and providing extra water and sand.

Supermarkets in Ice Cream Price War

The heatwave has triggered an aggressive wave of ice cream promotions across Belgian supermarkets. As reported by Het Laatste Nieuws, Delhaize is offering 50% off Cote d’Or, Cornetto, and Magnum products; Lidl has buy-one-get-one-free deals; Carrefour is running 1+1 promotions on Kinder Bueno ice cream; and Albert Heijn is offering a remarkable buy-two-get-three-free deal on Häagen-Dazs.

Pierre-Alexandre Billiet, CEO of retail consultancy Gondola, described this as a shift toward climate-linked promotions. “That’s the future: affordable fun products that respond to climate change,” he said, noting that supermarkets are increasingly adapting their strategies to volatile weather patterns.

Broader European Context

The Belgian heatwave is part of a larger European heat event. France has placed 49 departments under code red, affecting 35 million people, with 845 schools closed and 1,800 others operating on shortened hours. Three elderly people died near Bordeaux, and 13 drownings have been recorded since the heat began. In the Netherlands, a woman drowned while trying to save children in the Waal river, while Germany reported nine injuries from lightning at a sports festival.

Analysis: Infrastructure Under Pressure

The patchwork of responses across Belgium highlights the challenges of adapting to more frequent extreme weather events. While municipalities like Etterbeek have taken swift action, the lack of a coordinated national heatwave policy for schools and transport infrastructure raises questions about long-term preparedness. With the NMBS’s 2032 timeline for full air conditioning rollout and climate scientists warning that such heatwaves are becoming more common, Belgium faces mounting pressure to accelerate its climate adaptation efforts.

What to Watch

Temperatures are forecast to remain high through at least Friday, June 26, with the coast providing some relief at 25–32°C. The KMI has issued code orange for multiple provinces, and the warning phase of the Flemish Heat Action Plan remains active. Meteorologists attribute the extreme conditions to a “heat dome”—a high-pressure system trapping hot air over Western Europe. Whether this week’s events will spur faster infrastructure investment and more coordinated heatwave planning remains an open question.