95% of Belgian Care Homes, Hospitals Need Heat Renovation
The Belgian Construction Federation (Embuild) has warned that 95% of care homes and hospitals in Belgium require extensive renovation to withstand extreme heat and meet European energy standards by 2050. The announcement comes as the country faces its second national heatwave of the summer, with temperatures expected to reach 35 degrees Celsius locally, and follows a June heatwave that caused the highest excess mortality in Europe.
A Double Challenge: Aging Infrastructure and Rising Temperatures
According to Embuild’s Rebuild Belgium report, published in February, 1,447 of Belgium’s 1,523 care homes and 98 of its 103 hospitals do not meet 2050 energy standards. The federation describes this as the country’s largest construction and renovation challenge since the post-World War II reconstruction period.
“We face an enormous construction and renovation wave for our care homes and hospitals,” said Niko Demeester, CEO of Embuild, in an interview with VRT NWS. “Given the changing climate conditions that cause higher temperatures and more heatwaves, we must use this construction and renovation challenge to make those care facilities climate- and heat-resistant.”
The necessary measures include triple glazing, insulation, ventilation, external sun shading, air conditioning, and green or cool roofs, according to the federation. The renovation cost will run into billions of euros.
“The question is: who is going to pay for this?” Demeester acknowledged. “We need to get the machine going now to spread the cost.”
Demographic Pressures Add Urgency
The renovation challenge is compounded by significant demographic shifts. By 2050, Belgium will have 32% more people aged 65-85, and the number of those aged 85 and older will double. Currently, 120,000 people aged 65 and above live in care homes, but 38,000 additional elderly people will need places by 2050.
To meet this demand, Embuild estimates that 486 additional care homes will be needed by 2050 — 273 in Flanders, 43 in Brussels, and 170 in Wallonia — along with 7 additional hospitals, 6 in Flanders and 1 in Wallonia.
The Deadly June Heatwave
The urgency of heat-resistant healthcare infrastructure was starkly demonstrated in June, when Belgium experienced its deadliest heatwave in recent history. Between June 17 and 29, the country recorded over 2,000 excess deaths — a 48% excess mortality rate, the highest in Europe according to EuroMOMO data reported by BRUZZ.
Emergency services were overwhelmed during the peak of the crisis. On June 27-28, the 112 emergency number was flooded with heat-related calls, with waiting times reaching 10 minutes, and five Brussels hospitals had to be temporarily disconnected from the emergency center because they could not cope with the influx of patients.
“We have all been massively shaken awake,” said Sam Proesmans, an emergency doctor at ZAS Antwerpen, in an interview with VRT NWS. “Call it a collective trauma. Few had thought we would end up in such a situation in 2026.”
Proesmans noted that the ZAS hospitals are located in an urban, paved environment that barely cools down at night. “The alarm has gone off that not only the patients coming in here, but also ourselves are victims of the heat.”
The excess mortality data also revealed significant regional disparities. Brussels recorded 159 excess deaths — a 61% excess mortality rate — during the heatwave, according to BRUZZ. Biostatistician Geert Molenberghs of KU Leuven/UHasselt attributed the differences to socio-economic factors. “In a large, detached house with some greenery around it, it gets less hot than in a small apartment with too many people,” he said.
Economic and Investment Implications
The heat crisis carries significant economic costs as well. Triodos Bank estimates the European economy will shrink by about 1% — approximately 180 billion euros — due to heat and drought, with Belgium suffering more than most because the country has adapted less well to high temperatures.
Embuild is calling on Belgian governments to increase public infrastructure investment from the current 3.1% of GDP to 4% — a target that would require 5.7 billion euros in additional spending by 2029. The federation made this appeal in May, noting that Belgium’s investment level lags behind the EU average of 3.7% of GDP, as reported by VRT NWS.
“The figures are clear,” Demeester said in the Rebuild Belgium report. “Belgium faces an immense renewal of its homes, buildings and infrastructure. To meet climate targets and accommodate demographic evolution, massive construction and renovation is needed. That is a challenge, but also an opportunity to improve our society and economy.”
What’s Next
As Belgium endures its second national heatwave of the summer, with temperatures forecast to reach 35 degrees Celsius on Thursday and Friday, hospitals have already implemented new heat-preparedness measures based on lessons learned in June. These include expanded cooling capacity, additional mobile air conditioning units, and protocols for treating heat stroke patients more rapidly.
However, the structural challenge remains. The renovation of Belgium’s healthcare infrastructure will require sustained political will, significant public investment, and years of construction work. With the country’s aging population growing and climate change making heatwaves more frequent and intense, the question is no longer whether Belgium can afford to renovate its care homes and hospitals — but whether it can afford not to.