Nine months of excess rainfall is a first in 119 years

June 2024 was the ninth consecutive month to record above-average rainfall, according to the Royal Meteorological Institute's (RMI) monthly climate report.

These nine months were the longest period of excess rainfall in at least 119 years, RMI said, beating the previous record dating back to 1905 when eight consecutive months of above-average rainfall were recorded.

The measuring station in Uccle counted 73.7mm of rain last month, compared with an average of 70.8mm. The highest daily total was 17.6mm on 18 June.

Over the entire RMI network, the highest daily total was measured on 29 June at the Frassem station in the Ardennes, where 52.8mm of rain fell.

There were also 11 days of thunderstorms across Belgium last month.

Temperatures were below normal at Uccle for most of the month until 22 June, with average temperature just 14.5°C compared to a norm of 16.3°C.

From 23 June onwards, temperatures began to rise, bringing the average temperature for the whole month to 16.0°C.

The excess rain meant the amount of sunshine was also below average. In the first 22 days of June, only 97 hours and 21 minutes of sunshine were recorded.

There was more sunshine from 23 June onwards, however, bringing the month’s total to just below normal at 186 hours.