The forecast through May indicates water deficits of varying intensity across northern Africa while deficits in the Horn retreat. Surpluses are forecast for nations north of the Gulf of Guinea, pockets across the Sahel, and many regions of East Africa, particularly Tanzania and Kenya.
Africa: Intense water deficits ahead for central Somalia
The forecast through March 2020 indicates that water deficits in Africa will shrink and downgrade considerably, but exceptional deficits will emerge from central Somalia into Ethiopia. Surpluses in East Africa will remain widespread, particularly in Tanzania and Kenya. Other areas with a forecast of surplus include the Nile River through Egypt and nations on the north coast of the Gulf of Guinea.
Africa: Water deficits to shrink in the south, persist in the north
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 surpluses include Tanzania, Uganda, northern Mozambique, eastern Ghana, southern Togo, and eastern Burkina Faso.
Africa: Water deficits forecast to diminish
The forecast through September indicates that water deficits will shrink and downgrade overall, leaving moderate to severe deficits across the north and generally milder deficits in the south, punctuated by more intense pockets. Areas of exceptional deficit include Ethiopia west of Addis Ababa, coastal Côte d’Ivoire, southeastern Nigeria, and pockets of Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. Surpluses are forecast in Tanzania, Uganda, and south of Durban and west of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Africa: Water deficits will downgrade overall
The forecast through August 2019 indicates moderate water deficits across northern Africa with large pockets of exceptional deficit in Libya, Egypt, and Sudan. The southern Sahara and the Sahel will be near-normal, and deficits in the Horn will downgrade. Mild deficits will cover much of southern Africa, punctuated by surpluses in East Africa and some pockets of intense deficit from Cameroon through Republic of the Congo, in southern Angola, northern Namibia, and western Botswana.