Belgium–As the temperature will be nearing 40°C today and tomorrow, majority of the shops will close a little earlier, few trams and trains will run, and waste will be collected a bit earlier in the morning in most of the places.
The temperatures will increase to 35°C on Monday, and even higher to 39-40°C on Tuesday. As cooling down at the beach is not an option for everyone, here is an overview of some precautionary measures being taken.
Moreover, as per the professional bakers Bakkers Vlaanderen federation, most of the bakers will not be open as long as usual on Monday and Tuesday. The supply will also be more limited.
Working near ovens in these temperatures is particularly difficult, and the federation expects that the majority of the customers will stay away during the hottest hours of the day in any case.
Butchers and caterers are also advised to stay closed longer in the afternoon, as the trade association expects customers to stay away at the time of the hottest hours of the day.
Some flower shops all over the country will remain closed, as they announced that cut flowers and extreme heat are not an ideal combination.
Furthermore, the smaller, local shops may also decide to remain closed or close early, but supermarkets will stay open like usual.
In this week, the SCNB has made the announcement that it has cancelled about 34 peak-hour trains on Tuesday. This mainly concerns train sets that are parked in full sunlight during the day or older train stock that in more sensitive to extreme heat. On Monday, no charges were announced.
In Antwerp, De Lijn will be cancelling services on both Monday and Thusday on a number of tramlines that are operated with the older PCC trams.
In addition, this will specifically affect lines 11 (Berchem-Melkmarkt), 4 (Hoboken-Groenplaats-Silsburg), 7 (Mortsel-Eilandje) and 24 (Havenhuis-Silsburg). No problems are expected on the coast or in Ghent, where only modern trams are operated.
