Brussels, May 2025 — As the European Union prepares to unveil its long-awaited water resilience strategy on June 4, Belgium finds itself in the grip of one of the driest spring seasons in recorded history.
The combination of minimal rainfall, record sunshine, and unseasonably high temperatures has alarmed meteorologists and environmental experts, prompting urgent calls for enhanced action and funding.
Between March 1 and May 22, only 30.8mm of rain was recorded at the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) in Uccle—dramatically below the seasonal average of 146.2mm.
“It’s one of the driest periods since 1893,” said Pascal Mormal, RMI meteorologist. In addition, this spring ranked as Belgium’s third warmest on record and broke the all-time record for sunshine, with 651 hours and 11 minutes logged in Uccle.
These extremes follow an unusually wet 2024, when Belgium recorded 1170.7mm of rain—among its highest annual totals since the start of meteorological tracking. Experts say the erratic pattern highlights the growing influence of climate change.
“We are seeing events that should occur once every 100 years happening multiple times in a decade,” said Jan Staes, biologist and environmental scientist at the University of Antwerp.
He attributes the increased volatility to the weakening of jet streams due to polar ice melt, which allows weather systems to stagnate over regions. “It’s like stones in a river when there’s not enough flow,” he explained.
Though Wallonia’s deeper aquifers remain at adequate levels, Flanders is feeling the effects more acutely due to its shallower water tables.
“We’ll need to reassess the situation in the coming weeks,” warned Mormal, noting forecasts point to a potentially warmer and drier-than-average summer.
Drought conditions have far-reaching consequences, from damaging agriculture to raising the risk of forest fires and affecting sectors reliant on water.
While Belgium has made progress in recent years, notably through Flanders’ “Blue Deal” investment in water management infrastructure, Staes warned that progress may be jeopardized by budget cuts.
“The current Minister for Environment reduced the budget significantly, even though it remains crucial,” he said. Staes emphasized the importance of investing in nature-based solutions, rewetting land, and restoring hydrological systems.
“These things take time and strategy,” he added, urging authorities to review policies around groundwater abstraction permits.
Technological innovations are also part of the solution. According to Tania Pentcheva, Director Europe Government and Industry Relations at water tech firm Xylem, digital platforms can help municipalities detect leaks and vulnerabilities in their water systems.
Yet she stressed the need for broader EU coordination. “Rivers cross borders; water is a shared resource. We need a European approach,” she said.
Pentcheva welcomed the forthcoming EU water resilience strategy, calling it a long-overdue step. “Water has been taken for granted in Europe for too long,” she said. However, she underscored the sector’s chronic underfunding. “Compared to energy or transport, water receives far less financial support,” she noted.
With the climate crisis intensifying, experts hope the new EU strategy will deliver not just policy frameworks but also concrete financial support. “Without adequate funding, no strategy can truly succeed,” Pentcheva concluded.
