BERADAR
Observation of important natural phenomena in Belgium
BERadar / Method
BERadar is a data aggregator dedicated to natural phenomena in Belgium, whether normal, seasonal or unusual. It brings several sources together on a single map to help you understand what is happening now.
Simple reading: one phenomenon is displayed at a time. Choosing another layer automatically replaces the previous one; clicking the active layer again hides it.
Essential principle
The site does not display future weather scenarios. The available animations show changes that have already been observed, while model fields describe an estimate of the current state. They are not a forecast issued by BERadar.
An honest distinction
To avoid mixing measurements and calculations, BERadar clearly distinguishes directly observed phenomena from those estimated by a weather model.
Precipitation radar, thermal anomalies and electrical activity come from instruments on the ground or aboard satellites.
Wind, clouds, fog, frost, snow and heat come from high-resolution models. Agricultural drought is analysed over ten days using precipitation, soil moisture and vegetation condition. BERadar does not display their forecast component.
Sources and technical partners
BERadar relies on public bodies, data services and open-source projects. The word “partner” is used here in a technical sense and does not necessarily imply a commercial or institutional affiliation.
Observed precipitation
RainViewer provides the recent radar images used to display rain and its movement over the last two hours.
View sourceThermal anomalies
The MODIS and VIIRS instruments detect abnormally hot points. A detection may correspond to a fire, but by itself it does not confirm one.
View sourceAnalysed agricultural drought
The Combined Drought Indicator brings together precipitation deficit, soil moisture and vegetation stress over ten-day periods. It does not directly represent groundwater levels or river discharge.
View sourceEstimated current wind
The European model from Deutscher Wetterdienst provides speed, direction and gusts. Open-Meteo makes these data available to BERadar.
View sourceClouds, fog, frost, snow and heat
The high-resolution European model from the Danish Meteorological Institute supplies several current fields. Open-Meteo provides their technical delivery.
View sourceObserved electrical activity
The Meteosat-12 Lightning Imager detects optical emissions produced by lightning. It shows electrical activity without systematically distinguishing ground strikes.
View sourceGeographic data
Roads, cities, borders and other geographic features come from the collaborative OpenStreetMap database.
View sourceVector basemap
OpenFreeMap distributes the tiles used by the site. OpenMapTiles organises the data in a vector schema that BERadar adapts to its visual identity.
View sourceInteractive display
MapLibre draws the map in your browser, overlays the layers and manages zooming, panning, legends and interactions.
View sourceAggregation, design and development
Pixel Komando selects the sources, normalises the data, develops the proxies and caches, builds the interface and maintains BERadar.
Discover Pixel KomandoBehind the scenes
BERadar queries the official source or its distribution service.
A local cache limits unnecessary calls and temporarily retains the latest usable data.
Formats, times, units and grids are converted so they can be compared on the same map.
Your browser receives only the necessary elements and overlays them on the basemap.
Keep in mind
Data may be delayed, have a missing area, include interpolation or contain a detection error. BERadar is designed to observe and understand a situation, not to make a safety decision on its own.
For official warnings and instructions, consult the RMI, the National Crisis Centre and the competent authorities.
You now know exactly what you are looking at.
Open the BERadar map