ISCIENCES WORLDWIDE WATER WATCH LIST 15 FEBRUARY 2019

15 February 2019

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This map presents a selection of regions likely to encounter significant water anomalies during the one year period beginning in November 2018 and running through October 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 February 15, 2019 (pdf).

United States: Most notable in the forecast through April is the absence of widespread, intense water surpluses observed in the East in prior months. Surpluses will, however, persist in a massive path down the center of the country from Wisconsin through Texas, and moderate surpluses will emerge in the Rocky Mountains, in California from San Francisco Bay to the southern border, and along the Missouri and Colorado Rivers. Surpluses will be exceptional in central Kansas, on the Arkansas River, and in central Texas.

Canada: The forecast through April indicates exceptional water deficits across Quebec from Hudson Bay into central Labrador, and exceptional deficits in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, northern New Brunswick, and around Fortune Bay on the Island of Newfoundland. Moderate to extreme deficits will persist along Ontario’s eastern border; surpluses are forecast around Toronto. Intense deficits are expected in southern Saskatchewan and the Middle and Upper Reaches of the Athabasca River in Alberta. Surpluses are forecast in southern British Columbia and severe deficits in southern Vancouver Island.

Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean: The forecast through April indicates that water surpluses in northern Coahuila, Mexico will remain intense. Surpluses will also persist from Zacatecas through Mexico City into northern Oaxaca, broken by a pocket of exceptional deficits in southern Puebla. Other areas of deficit include the northern Yucatan Peninsula, southern Chihuahua, northern Durango, and scattered small pockets in the south. Intense deficits are forecast for western Panama and moderate deficits will emerge in eastern Jamaica.

South America: The forecast through April indicates that water deficits in the Amazon Basin will shrink. Deficits are forecast for many other parts of Brazil, including intense deficits in Maranhão, eastern Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and along many rivers. Deficits are also forecast for Brazil’s northern neighbors, and Peru and Chile. Surpluses are forecast for central Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Uruguay, and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Europe: The forecast through April indicates persistent, intense water deficits in Finland, southern Sweden, Estonia, and Latvia. Other areas with pockets of fairly intense deficit include northern Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, and eastern Slovenia and Croatia. Moderate to severe deficits are expected in Belarus and across the border into European Russia past the Volga River. Regions with surpluses include Switzerland, Austria, the Balkans, Romania, eastern Ukraine, and Crimea.

Africa: The forecast through April indicates that water deficits will downgrade in the southern half of the continent, becoming primarily moderate across the central breadth and mild in the south. Deficits in the north will increase and intensify, with moderate to extreme deficits in the Sahara and deficits reaching exceptional intensity in parts of the Sahel and into western Ethiopia. Intense deficits will linger in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Surpluses will persist in western Tanzania.

Middle East: The forecast through April indicates water deficits on the Arabian Peninsula and southern Iran, and surpluses from Turkey through western Iran. Exceptional deficits will increase in western Oman, downgrade somewhat in Yemen, and moderate to severe deficits are expected in much of Saudi Arabia. Deficits will downgrade in United Arab Emirates and moderate deficits will emerge in Qatar.

Central Asia and Russia: The forecast through April indicates that water surpluses in the Ob River Basin of Russia will downgrade somewhat. Exceptional surpluses are expected in the northern Yenisei River watershed. Surpluses will increase in the Northern European Plain from the Kola Peninsula in the west past the Vychegda Lowland. Deficits are forecast for the Upper Volga River Basin and Trans Volga region of Russia, western Kazakhstan, and eastern Tajikistan. Deficits will be severe in the Upper Volga Basin.

South Asia: The forecast through April indicates that, while exceptional water deficits in Gujarat and in the south will downgrade, widespread deficits of varying intensity are forecast in western and southern India. Surpluses will re-emerge in Uttar Pradesh in the western Gangetic Plain. Other regions with surpluses include Mizoram (India), Bangladesh, Nepal, rivers in northern Pakistan, and around Kabul, Afghanistan.

Southeast Asia and the Pacific: The forecast through April indicates that exceptional water deficits in western Cambodia will shrink slightly, deficits in Thailand will downgrade, and moderate deficits will emerge in northern Myanmar. Deficits are also forecast for the Philippines, eastern Borneo, northern Sulawesi, pockets of Sumatra, and central New Guinea. Moderate to severe surpluses are forecast for much of Vietnam with exceptional conditions in the north including Hanoi, and in north-central Laos.

East Asia: The forecast through April indicates a vast stretch of intense water deficits in southern and eastern Mongolia and into Inner Mongolia, China. Moderate surpluses will emerge on the Lower Reaches of the Yellow River. Widespread surpluses will persist in the Yangtze Basin’s Lower Reaches and in the southern portion of the Middle Reaches, reaching into Guangxi. Surpluses will be exceptional in Shanghai and Jiangsu. Deficits are forecast for North Korea and northern Honshu, Japan. Some surpluses are forecast for South Korea and Kyushu, Japan.

Australia & New Zealand: The forecast through April indicates that the intense water deficits that have dominated many parts of Australia in prior months will nearly disappear. However, severe to exceptional deficits will persist in Tasmania; along Victoria’s coast; in northwestern New South Wales and the eastern portion of the Lake Eyre drainage basin; and in the Blackwood River region in the tip of Western Australia.

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