ISCIENCES WORLDWIDE WATER WATCH LIST JUNE 2018

15 June 2018

This map presents a selection of regions likely to encounter significant water anomalies during the one year period beginning in March 2018 and running through February 2019 using 3 months of observed temperature and precipitation data and 9 months of forecast data.

The synopsis that follows provides highlights of regional water forecasts. Regional details are available in ISciences Global Water Monitor & Forecast June 15, 2018 (pdf).

United States: The forecast through August indicates deficits in the Northeast, which could be exceptional in southern Maine. Moderate to severe surpluses are forecast scattered from Virginia through Alabama, and covering nearly all of Florida. Primarily moderate deficits are forecast for the Mississippi River Basin. Intense deficits are forecast for western Colorado, northern Utah, western Oregon, western Washington, and southernmost Texas. Primarily moderate deficits are expected in California. Surpluses will diminish in Idaho and downgrade slightly from exceptional in Montana.

Canada: Exceptional water deficits are expected to decrease but will persist in many areas, including along Ontario’s eastern border. Surpluses are expected northwest of Toronto, and moderate deficits from Peterborough to Ottawa. In Quebec, deficits will be extreme around Sherbrooke. Severe deficits are forecast for southern Manitoba. Deficits will be intense in the Upper Athabasca and Lower Peace River Regions of Alberta, and surrounding Prince George, BC. Surpluses will increase in southern BC and will be exceptional around Kamloops and Kelowna.

Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean: Mexico will transition away from significant water deficits in the northwest but widespread, intense deficits will emerge across the south and in the east. Deficits may be exceptional in Puebla, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Tabasco, and Chiapas. Surpluses are forecast to emerge in northeastern Sonora. In Central America surpluses will shrink considerably but will persist in eastern Honduras and Nicaragua, and will emerge in Panama. Deficits are forecast for Guatemala, El Salvador, and western Honduras. Deficits of varying severity are also forecast for much of the Caribbean.

South America: Exceptional water deficits will diminish over the next few months, but large pockets are forecast for Brazil in Acre, Rondônia, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, and São Paolo. Intense deficits elsewhere include: Venezuela east of Lake Maracaibo and near the border with Guyana; southern Bolivia; and along a path beginning south of Lima, Peru, through northern Chile. Deficits in Argentina will moderate and surpluses will emerge in northern Buenos Aires Province.

Europe: The forecast through August indicates widespread water deficits of varying severity in Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe, with intense deficits sprinkled throughout but especially prevalent in Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. Surpluses will persist on the Iberian Peninsula and may be exceptional between the Tajo and Guadiana Rivers, and from Toledo south to Granada. In European Russia, surpluses ranging from moderate to exceptional are forecast for the Don River Basin and much of the Volga River Basin.

Africa: Exceptional water deficits in North Africa will diminish but persist, and severe deficits are forecast in Gabon and in Nigeria south of the Benue River. Deficits will also persist in western Zambia and are expected to be extreme on the Kafue River. Moderate to exceptional deficits will emerge in central Botswana. Exceptional surpluses will persist in Tanzania, Kenya, and northern Uganda, but diminish somewhat in northern Madagascar. Surpluses east of Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of the Congo are forecast to increase in both extent and intensity, becoming severe.

Middle East: The forecast through August indicates that exceptional water deficits in the northern Arabian Peninsula will shrink but deficits overall in the Peninsula will be widespread. Exceptional deficits are forecast for Lebanon, Israel, and West Bank. Deficits of varying severity are forecast throughout Turkey and Syria, though deficits in western Turkey will downgrade from exceptional. In southern Iran deficits will become more severe, reaching exceptional intensity in Kerman and neighboring provinces.

Central Asia and Russia: Water surpluses will shrink in European Russia, transitioning to both deficit and surplus the Northern European Plain. Widespread deficits along the Pechora Sea through Yamal Peninsula and into the Central Siberian Plateau will retreat considerably. Surpluses in the Upper Ob and Tom River regions will diminish but remain widespread. Deficits will increase in the Bolshoy Yugan River watershed in the Middle Ob. Surpluses will persist in northern Kazakhstan, and deficits are forecast for Turkmenistan, eastern Uzbekistan, central Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

South Asia: Exceptional water deficits are forecast to persist in Afghanistan, retreating slightly in the north but increasing in the south. Pakistan should get a reprieve as intense deficits diminish considerably, leaving moderate to severe conditions in western Baluchistan. India will transition out of widespread deficit to milder conditions, with moderate deficits in the south and more severe deficits in the Far Northeast, particularly Assam. Surpluses will downgrade to moderate in West Bengal, and will shrink and downgrade in Bangladesh while remaining fairly intense, especially in Dhaka Division.

Southeast Asia and the Pacific: The forecast indicates a transition away from widespread, intense water surplus to deficit. Surpluses are forecast, however, for parts of Myanmar, northern Laos, northwestern Vietnam, eastern Cambodia, central Philippines, and East Nusa Tengara. Intense deficits will emerge in southernmost Thailand, and spread in Malaysia and northern Sumatra. Deficits of varying intensity are expected to emerge throughout Indonesia and may be extreme in West Nusa Tengara and Timor-Leste. Deficits in Papua New Guinea will downgrade but remain severe.

East Asia: Exceptional water deficits in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia through southern Xinjiang will diminish considerably, though widespread deficits of varying severity are expected. Deficits will increase in Northeast China and are expected to be intense in Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. In Southeast China, moderate to exceptional deficits are forecast for Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Surpluses are forecast for the Huai River Basin. Moderate deficits are forecast for much of North Korea but deficits may be severe north of Pyongyang.

Australia & New Zealand: Moderate water deficits, punctuated by more intense pockets, are expected across a large portion of the east and southeast including the Murray-Darling Basin, scattered across the north, and in the southwest tip of the country. Deficits are expected to be intense in Tasmania, pockets along the southeast coast, the southwest tip, Darwin and the Daly River region, and along the southern shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Intense deficits are forecast for New Caledonia.

Subscribe to our monthly Water Watch List

Search blog categories

Search blog tags