Brussels keeps yellow drought alert as wildfire risk remains very high

UPDATED: 18 August 2026 | BRUSSELS — The Brussels Regional Drought Unit kept the capital’s yellow drought-vigilance phase in force after meeting on Monday evening, 17 August, according to BRUZZ and Het Nieuwsblad. The unit concluded that the rain forecast for the week would not be sufficient to return conditions to normal, while the risk of fires in forests and green spaces remained very high.

Yellow is a vigilance level rather than a general ban on water use. Brussels Environment says it means the authorities introduce preventive measures and ask households, public bodies, businesses and sports clubs to use tap water carefully. BRUZZ reported that the unit also expects consumption to increase as residents return from summer holidays and the new school year approaches.

The warning follows weeks of dry and hot weather. At the unit’s previous assessment on 4 August, Brussels Environment said Belgium’s overall drought situation was moving from dry towards extremely dry. Vivaqua was still distributing drinking water normally, but the authority identified the flow of the Meuse — which affects production at the Tailfer treatment site — as a point requiring close attention.

Conditions in nature remain the most immediate safety concern. Brussels Environment’s field observations and an assessment by the Flemish Agency for Nature and Forests placed the fire danger at orange, meaning very high. The administration has strengthened surveillance and reported visible stress in vegetation, including scorched lawns, early leaf loss and deteriorating trees. Schaerbeek municipality has separately urged residents to avoid flames near vegetation and never discard cigarette ends on the ground.

Residents are asked to postpone non-essential uses such as washing cars, filling swimming pools, cleaning terraces and pavements, and watering lawns or planting. Brussels Environment also reiterates that lighting fires in forests and regional green spaces is prohibited. Canal users face operational measures too: the Port of Brussels has grouped lock passages and restricted recreational navigation to conserve water, according to the regional authority.

The wider Belgian picture remains strained. The Flemish government reported in mid-August that more than 83% of monitored groundwater points were low or very low for the season, while the Flemish drought-management level remained orange. In Brussels, the drought unit will continue reviewing rainfall, groundwater, watercourse flows, drinking-water supply and fire danger. The timing of its next assessment has not been announced.