The summer of 2026 was devastating; and we shouldn't be surprised
The figures that have just been released are indisputable: during the meteorological summer (June–August), Western Europe experienced the hottest season in its history, surpassing the 2003 record, with an average temperature of 21.69°C—2.54°C above normal [Copernicus]. In Belgium, the summer of 2026 was the hottest on record, with an average temperature of 20.3°C, 15 days with temperatures peaking above 30°C, and a high of 40.4°C on June 27—only the third time the symbolic 40°C threshold has been crossed, following 2019 and 2022 [IRM]. As for the drought, it has become a long-term phenomenon: in Uccle, only 10.6 mm of rain fell in July, compared to an average of 76.9 mm. All the conditions were in place to trigger the largest wildfires ever recorded in Belgium, with approximately 3,000 hectares ravaged in the Fagnes, more than 86% of which are protected natural areas. But that’s not all; as summer draws to a close, we’re learning that the combination of extreme heat and poor air quality likely caused 2,935 additional deaths in our country [Sciensano].
Should this come as a surprise? No; and we want to make it clear here that, both individually and collectively, we have neither an excuse nor the right to let this happen. For nearly 20 years, the scientific community has been documenting these climate hazards, their human-induced causes, and their intensification. This global warning must above all remind us that the consequences of climate change affect all countries and all communities, but most of all the most vulnerable. And that by threatening our ecosystems, it is in fact a cascade of impacts to which we are being exposed. Today, we have exceeded 7 of the 9 planetary boundaries that scientists use to assess the health of our planet [Planetary Health Check]. And climate is just one of them.
What now? Training to rise to the challenge
In 2015, the Paris Agreement aimed to limit global warming to +1.5°C. We are approaching that threshold, and without a shift in policy, we could be living in a climate that is 2.6°C warmer by the end of the century. Specifically for Belgium, summers like that of 2026 would become the norm within a few decades, which would inevitably take a toll on our health [Lancet Countdown Europe, 2026] and on the entire socioeconomic ecosystem [CERAC].
This observation—to which we must add other environmental crises such as massive deforestation, ocean acidification, and the loss of biodiversity—to name just a few—compels us to strongly echo the words of Ursula von der Leyen in her recent State of the European Union address: “Our future prosperity and security will depend largely on how we manage the tipping points of our time: climate change and artificial intelligence.” This urgency was emphasized just a few days ago by UN Secretary-General António Guterres himself before the United Nations General Assembly, where he defined the climate crisis as “the most profound intergenerational power imbalance.” These voices, which are being heard at the highest political levels, are also, notably, those rising up in our universities—among our faculty, researchers, and students.
In response, we are doing everything in our power to make our campuses more sustainable and resilient. We are strongly committed to educating all of our students on the challenges posed by socio-ecological upheavals, regardless of their discipline. We support research
— whether basic or applied, disciplinary or transdisciplinary — that enables us to understand and anticipate these upheavals, as well as research aimed at accelerating the transition to a sustainable society.
But our commitment, however resolute it may be, will not be enough unless it is supported and sustained by political action. For what meaning can we ascribe to it at a time when the ambitions of the Green Deal are being undermined, when our country has just missed the European deadline for its nature restoration plan, even though the courts had to remind the Belgian government nearly three years ago that it was violating human rights in relation to climate change? How can we justify to our students that we have managed to find the means to double the defense budget over 12 years to secure our borders, yet struggle to adopt a comparable level of ambition in the face of the climate threat, the cost of which could reach up to 5% of GDP and 15 percentage points of public debt by 2050 [CERAC]?
In the face of this disconnect, the scientific consensus remains unchanged: our scientists continue to warn us about the cascading risks looming for humanity—but also about the fact that we already have the knowledge, tools, and resources needed to set in motion the transformations toward a sustainable and just world [World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Third Notice]. It is essential that we work together on this for the sake of the young people we are educating today, who will inevitably be affected by environmental upheavals.
What we know must now guide what we do. Neglecting the planet’s balances is not a policy—it is a choice. It is time to make a different one.
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