ISCIENCES WORLDWIDE WATER WATCH LIST AUGUST 2019

15 August 2019

This map presents a selection of regions likely to encounter significant water anomalies during the one year period beginning in May 2019 and running through April 2020 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 August 15, 2019 (pdf).

United States: Water surpluses are forecast to be the dominant anomaly in the U.S. through April 2020. Through October, significant surpluses are forecast from South Dakota into Texas and will be particularly widespread and intense in South Dakota. Surpluses are also expected in parts of the Rockies, pockets in the Southwest, nearly all of California, Michigan, pockets in the Ohio River Valley, and near Tampa Bay, Florida. Areas of deficit include the Pacific Northwest, northern Minnesota, and the Carolinas.

Canada: The forecast through October indicates that conditions of water surplus in southern Quebec and deficit in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan will normalize. Forecasts for metropolitan areas include surpluses near Toronto; deficits around Winnipeg; normal conditions near Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Regina, Saskatoon, and Calgary; and near-normal conditions in Vancouver. Intense deficits will persist in large pockets of Quebec, Manitoba, and Alberta.

Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean: The forecast through October indicates moderate to exceptional water deficits in southern Veracruz State, Mexico trailing into Chiapas, particularly in the regions of the Papaloapan and Coatzacoalcos Rivers in Veracruz. Areas of moderate surplus include northeastern Sonora between the Yaqui and Bavispe Rivers, northern Coahuila, and northern San Luis Potosí. Moderate surpluses are also forecast for Costa Rica and western Panama.

South America: The forecast through October indicates intense water deficits in Brazil along the Purus River, in the southern Amazon Basin, along the Xingu and Tocantins Rivers, and in eastern Pará, Rio Grande do Norte, Mato Grosso, eastern Mato Grosso do Sul, western São Paulo State, and southeastern Minas Gerais. Intense deficits are also forecast for French Guiana, southern Suriname, and northern Chile. Areas of surplus include central Paraguay and northern Argentina.

Europe: The forecast through October indicates that water deficits will shrink and downgrade overall in Europe but remain widespread and intense in Finland. Deficits will moderate in central Europe, the Baltics, and Belarus, but intense pockets are forecast in southern Germany; Poland near Kraków; Germany near Dresden and Munich; coastal Norway; and central and northern Sweden. Surpluses are forecast for Ireland, United Kingdom, northern European Russia, and pockets in Italy and the Balkans.

Africa: The forecast through October indicates that water deficits will shrink and downgrade considerably, particularly in the south. Intense deficits are forecast in Algeria, northern Niger, southeast Libya, southwest Egypt, northern Sudan, and southwest Angola. Areas of surplus include Tanzania, Uganda, northern Mozambique, eastern Ghana, southern Togo, and eastern Burkina Faso.

Middle East: The forecast through October indicates that widespread water surpluses will persist in the region from southeastern Turkey through northern Iraq into northwestern Iran and along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Some areas of previous surplus will begin to transition as deficits emerge. Intense deficits are forecast for central Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, moderate to severe deficits in Georgia, and primarily moderate deficits in pockets of western Turkey including Ankara.

Central Asia and Russia: The forecast through October indicates that water surpluses will intensify in the Northern European Plain in Russia and will persist in the Ob River Basin. Deficits are forecast along the central coasts of the Gulf of Ob, and in the regions of the Nizhnyaya Tunguska and the Podkamennaya Tunguska Rivers. Surpluses are forecast in western and eastern Uzbekistan, northern and western Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and central Tajikistan.

South Asia: The forecast through October indicates normal water conditions for many parts of India as deficits nearly disappear. Surpluses are forecast in the far north and northeast, the western Gangetic Plain, Rajasthan, along Gujarat’s northern border, and southeastern Maharashtra. Widespread surpluses will persist across central Afghanistan, in northern Pakistan and along rivers, in central Nepal, and throughout Bangladesh.

Southeast Asia and the Pacific: The forecast through October indicates that water deficits will shrink and downgrade considerably in Thailand, and surpluses will shrink and downgrade in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Surpluses in Myanmar will remain intense in the west and south. Severe deficits will emerge in Malaysia and Indonesia.

East Asia: The forecast through October indicates that water deficits will shrink and downgrade considerably, retreating from the Shandong Peninsula, the North China Plain, and Yunnan. Surpluses in southeastern China will remain widespread and the extent of exceptional anomalies will shift east, affecting Fujian, Jiangxi, and northern Guangxi. Primarily moderate deficits are forecast for pockets of the Korean Peninsula. Deficits in northern Japan are expected to shrink and downgrade somewhat.

Australia & New Zealand: The forecast through October indicates moderate to exceptional water deficits in a vast stretch of eastern Australia from Rockhampton, Queensland reaching south to Melbourne. Intense deficits are forecast in pockets of Tasmania, the southwestern tip of Western Australia, Northern Territory’s Top End, and New Caledonia.

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