Climatology
This page presents Belgium's climate context for the current climatology, 1991-2020, derived from observed, historical data. Information should be used to build a strong understanding of current climate conditions in order to appreciate future climate scenarios and projected change. You can visualize data for the current climatology through spatial variation, the seasonal cycle, or as a time series. Analysis is available for both annual and seasonal data. Data presentation defaults to national-scale aggregation, however sub-national data aggregations can be accessed by clicking within a country, on a sub-national unit. Other historical climatologies can be selected from the Time Period dropdown list.
Observed, historical data is produced by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of University of East Anglia. Data is presented at a 0.5º x 0.5º (50km x 50km) resolution.
Belgium has a temperate maritime climate characterized by moderate temperatures, prevailing southerly to westerly winds, abundant cloud cover and frequent precipitation. Summers are relatively cool and humid and winters relatively mild and rainy. Observed temperatures have revealed a significant upward trend since the end of the 19th century. In recent years, the temperature shows a constant increase of 0.4 °C per decade. Precipitation in Belgium reveals high variability over time, with a slow, but significant, rising trend. Significant increase in annual accumulations have been observed (about 7%), as well as winter and spring accumulations (approximately 15%). The number of days with heavy precipitation and the maximum amount of precipitation in 5, 10 and 15 days have also increased significantly.