Climate service for Belgian
vector-borne disease management
Improved access and use of climate data for surveillance and prediction of tick-borne and mosquito-borne diseases in Belgium
Context
Vector-borne diseases are caused by bacteria, parasites and viruses that are transmitted by infected arthropod vectors, such as mosquitoes, ticks, sand flies and fleas. The presence of the diseases depends on the presence of vectors and animal/human reservoirs, which is influenced by many factors, such as climate change, international travel, trade and land use.
Over the past decades, vector-borne diseases, such as those transmitted by ticks and exotic mosquitoes, have increased in Europe as well as in Belgium which demonstrates the urgent need for real-time and structured access and use of climate data to allow timely surveillance and prediction of these vectors.
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As climate conditions become increasingly favourable for mosquitoes and ticks, up-to-date, locally detailed climate information is essential to anticipate potential health risks and strengthen public health preparedness.
Objectives
The Climate Service for Belgian Vector-Borne Disease Management project has developed a climate service tailored to the needs of Sciensano's Vector-Borne Diseases and Zoonoses unit. It aims to address the growing impact of climate change on public health by supporting the surveillance and prediction of diseases transmitted by ticks and exotic mosquitoes.
The service provides automated access to near-real-time climate data, combining information from:
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the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), including ERA5 climate reanalysis data
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Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) operated by the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMI).
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By combining these data sources with artificial intelligence and statistical modelling, the service generates near-real-time maps of climate variables, including temperature, humidity and precipitation, at a spatial resolution of 100 metres across Belgium.
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The resulting climate-based indicators help identify when and where conditions may favour mosquitoes and ticks, supporting disease surveillance, risk assessment and public health preparedness.
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The service is now running operationally at Sciensano, providing detailed climate information to support its monitoring and prediction activities. By capturing local climate variations, including differences between urban and rural areas, it helps bridge the gap between climate science and public health needs.
Highlights
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December 2024: Stakeholder workshop at the Belgian Climate Centre
The first user and stakeholder workshop in December 2024 gathered over 15 stakeholders from various relevant institutions, including the Flemish Government (Department of Care and Department of Environment), the Belgian Federal Government (FPS Public Health), the Institute of Tropical Medicine, the Spatial Epidemiology Lab (ULB), the Belgian Climate Risk Assessment Centre (CERAC), and Vivalis.
The workshop introduced the technical approach, data tools, and expected outcomes of the project. An interactive session also gave the opportunity to the broader community of stakeholders working on the health and environment interface, to discuss and express their specific challenges or gaps in addressing vector-borne disease management, features or functionalities of a climate service and the use of different networks and community platforms.
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March 2025: Training day for operational independence
A dedicated training session was held at Sciensano to prepare the team for the independent management of the climate service. The day covered the validation strategy and first AI model results, a review of initial test outcomes, technical implementation and documented code, and the final steps towards operationalisation, including data ownership and long-term data availability.
This transition is essential to guarantee the long-term sustainability and continued use of the service after the project contract ends. By combining climate science, AI innovation and public health expertise, this initiative demonstrates how cross-sector collaboration can build resilience against climate-sensitive diseases.
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"The training day helped us gain more insight into the validation and strengths of the calculations behind the climate service. In addition, our team also received additional explanation about the independent management of all scripts needed to run the climate service. This will enable us to further adapt in the future its use to the needs that exist around climate, vector-borne diseases and vectors." — Marie Hermy, researcher, Sciensano​
"The training day organised on the use of the climate service for vector-borne diseases was a very important opportunity for exchange between partners. This day enabled us to share our thoughts on the technical and scientific aspects of the project and ensured that we understood how the climate service works. This step is crucial to be able to use the service effectively in our future projects linking health and climate." — Raphael Rousseau, researcher, Sciensano​
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November 2025: Progress and key achievements
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The prototype service is operational, integrating AI-driven modelling and statistical workflows to generate near-real-time climate maps at a high spatial resolution of 100 meters.
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Initial validation results for the AI model are available, and a full workflow assessment for integration within Sciensano’s infrastructure has been completed.
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October 2026: Final webinar and stakeholder workshop
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As the two-year project drew to a close, the partners presented the results of their collaboration and highlighted the potential of climate services to support public health decision-making.
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A final webinar took place on 22 October 2026, presenting the climate service developed for vector-borne disease management and its practical application through the Sciensano use case. The webinar also explored how the approach could be adapted, scaled up and applied in other areas.
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The stakeholder workshop gave participants an opportunity to review the project's main achievements and discuss potential future applications in public health.
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The project has demonstrated how combining advanced climate data, AI-driven modelling and public health expertise can provide practical tools for monitoring environmental conditions favourable to disease-carrying vectors.
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This achievement reflects the close collaboration between VITO, which coordinated the project and led its technical development, the Belgian Climate Centre, which contributed its climate expertise, and Sciensano, the primary user and implementer of the service.
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Looking ahead
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With the climate service now operational at Sciensano, the project provides a foundation for the continued use of high-resolution climate information in vector-borne disease surveillance and public health preparedness.
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The methodology developed through this collaboration also offers opportunities for wider application. It could be adapted to monitor other climate-sensitive diseases and help a broader range of stakeholders make better use of climate data in their decision-making.
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By bringing climate science and public health surveillance closer together, the initiative offers a practical example of how climate services can help strengthen preparedness for emerging health risks.
Facts​
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Budget: € 200.000
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Funded by the National Collaboration Programme of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), managed by ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts)
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Implemented by
Schematic visualisation of the 2D Neural Network architecture applied in this study.
Average UrbNet output over Belgium for 2010–2020, showing daily minimum temperature (upper left), daily maximum temperature (upper right), daily mean temperature (lower left) and daily mean relative humidity (lower right). Temperature is expressed in °C and relative humidity in %.