Water deficits will shrink considerably in Central and Eastern Europe through March, but intense deficits are forecast for Finland, Sweden, Slovenia, Croatia, and Macedonia. Severe deficits will emerge on the Iberian Peninsula and deficits of varying intensity are forecast for Estonia, Latvia, northern Belarus, Italy, pockets of the Balkans, and central European Russia. Areas of surplus include northern European Russia, southern Sweden, pockets of the UK, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Romania, and scattered pockets of Central and Eastern Europe.
ISciences Worldwide Water Watch List 8 February 2019
Regions forecast to have significant water deficits for the 12-month period from October 2018 through September 2019 include: Quebec (Canada), Finland, Venezuela, Somalia, South Africa, India, Thailand, Cambodia, and Australia. Areas with a forecast of significant water surplus include: Texas (US), Paraguay, Uruguay, Tanzania, and China. This Watch List is based on ISciences Water Security Indicator Model (WSIM) run on 1 February 2019.
Europe: Water deficits to persist in Finland, Germany, Netherlands
Though the extent and intensity of water deficits in Europe will diminish considerably through February, severe to exceptional anomalies are forecast in Finland, pockets of Sweden, southern European Russia, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, western Germany, and eastern Slovenia and the Sava River Basin in Croatia and northern Bosnia-Herzegovina. Areas of surplus include Norway, northern European Russia, and the United Kingdom.
Europe: Water deficits persist in Finland, Estonia, Latvia
Notable in the near-term forecast is the retreat of water surplus in Central Europe and a transition to moderate deficit. Deficits in Northern Europe are expected to persist and increase, with exceptional deficits in Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. Surpluses will remain intense in Hungary, southern Romania, Moldova, and eastern Bulgaria, and will increase in Ukraine. Surpluses will continue to emerge in Ireland and the UK, and will spread on the Iberian Peninsula. After June, mild deficits are forecast for Central Europe, more intense deficits in Northern Europe, and surplus in the western Iberian Peninsula.
Europe: Water deficits to persist in the Mediterranean
Exceptional water deficits are expected to diminish considerably, but deficits of varying severity remain in the forecast for Finland, England, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, and across the Mediterranean through the Balkans. Exceptional surpluses will continue to emerge in western Russia and Poland, and surpluses are also forecast Romania, Moldova, Lithuania, Belarus, Germany, Czech Republic (Czechia), Austria, northern United Kingdom, Ireland, and southern Norway. From February through April surpluses will begin to moderate somewhat and the extent of deficits will shrink.