ISciences Worldwide Water Watch List August 2017

15 August 2017

This map presents a selection of regions likely to encounter significant water anomalies during the one year period beginning in May 2017 and running through April 2018 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, 2017 (pdf).

United States: After July the Northern Plains States should see a significant retreat of exceptional water deficits. Surpluses will persist in the Gulf region, diminish in the Great Lakes States, and transition to mild deficits in Virginia and North Carolina. After October moderate water surpluses will re-emerge in most of the Great Lakes States and in the Ohio River Valley, and pockets of surplus will continue to emerge in Idaho and surrounding states. Deficits in the southern states of the East Coast are expected to ratchet up slightly to moderate intensity and deficits will emerge in Florida.

Canada: The near-term forecast through October indicates a significant retreat of exceptional water deficits in the Prairie Provinces. Deficits will persist in central Quebec and southern Newfoundland, and emerge east of the St. Lawrence River, in New Brunswick, and in southern Nova Scotia. Surpluses are expected to persist in central Manitoba west of Lake Winnipeg, a large block of northwestern Saskatchewan into Alberta, southeastern British Columbia, and near Ottawa and west of Toronto. After October conditions will continue to moderate, though some exceptional surpluses will persist.

Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean: Intense water deficits in Mexico and western Cuba are forecast to retreat after July. However, severe to exceptional deficits remain in the forecast for northern Baja, in Nayarit, and peppered along the Gulf of Mexico from Tamaulipas through Tabasco. Surpluses are forecast for the border of Guatemala and Honduras, and in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and western Jamaica. After October deficits will continue to emerge in southern Mexico; surpluses in Central America are forecast to diminish to near-normal conditions.

South America: Though a slight reduction in the extent of exceptional deficits is expected, the forecast for the next three months indicates a basic pattern of water conditions similar to observed conditions in the prior three months which includes widespread, intense deficits in most of Brazil north of Rio de Janeiro and surpluses in La Pampa Province, Argentina. In addition, a transition from surplus to deficit is forecast in Brazilian states south of Rio and in eastern Paraguay. After October deficits across northern South America are forecast to shrink considerably.

Europe: The extent of exceptional water deficits is expected to diminish considerably in the coming months though southern Europe will remain in moderate deficit through April 2018. Some relief is in the near-term forecast, particularly for Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Belgium, as exceptional deficits shrink through October, though Finland will remain in the grip of intense deficits. Surpluses are forecast for western Russia, the border of Romania and Moldova, and a pocket in north-central Germany.

Africa: The extent of exceptional water deficits is expected to diminish considerably through October – particularly in the southern half of the continent – but deficits reaching exceptional intensity are forecast from northern Mauritania through northern Sudan, and in Somaliland, Somalia, and eastern Ethiopia. A large block of exceptional surplus is forecast in eastern Tanzania, and some exceptional surplus is also expected in northern Madagascar. Overall, deficits will continue to downgrade through January 2018, while surpluses will increase in Tanzania and will emerge in Malawi, northern Mozambique, eastern Zambia, Uganda, western Kenya, and along the While Nile in South Sudan.

Middle East: Exceptional water deficits in the Middle East are forecast to nearly disappear after October though widespread deficits of lesser intensity will continue to emerge. Until then, however, extreme to exceptional deficits will blanket much of the Arabian Peninsula, Syria, Jordan, Iraq west of the Euphrates, much of Georgia, and a pocket of southwestern Turkey surrounding Antalya. After October significant deficits remain in the forecast for Georgia, northern Saudi Arabia, Iraq west of the Euphrates, pockets of central Iran, and southwestern and eastern Yemen.

Central Asia and Russia: Water surpluses of varying intensity are forecast in Russia stretching from western European Russia to the Western Siberian Plain through April 2018 and are expected to be exceptional in large pockets of the Volga Basin and between the Upper Ob and Tom Rivers surrounding Novosibirsk from August 2017 through January 2018. In the near-term, August through October, deficit conditions in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are expected to ameliorate, leaving modest deficits. Exceptional surpluses will continue to emerge in northern Kyrgyzstan, including Bishkek.

South Asia: The near-term forecast through October indicates that exceptional deficits will nearly disappear in India but moderate to severe deficits will continue to emerge, covering much of the north/south extent of the country. Surpluses are forecast for Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, and Mizoram. Deficits are forecast for southern Afghanistan, central and southern Pakistan, and eastern Bhutan. Exceptional surpluses will continue to emerge in much of Bangladesh and central Nepal. Deficits in Sri Lanka will ameliorate, leaving moderate deficits in the east. Beyond October primarily moderate deficits will continue to emerge in central India through April 2018.

Southeast Asia and the Pacific: Though a significant retreat of exceptional water surplus in the region is forecast through October, exceptional surpluses remain in the forecast for: western Myanmar; eastern Thailand into southern Laos; and, southeastern Sulawesi and Sumbawa and Flores Islands in Indonesia. Exceptional deficits are forecast for a large block of western Cambodia, and deficits of varying severity are forecast for the Mekong Delta, southern Thailand, Singapore, Malaysian Borneo, southern Sumatra, and pockets in central Papua New Guinea. After October, near-normal conditions are expected in many parts of the region and deficits in western Cambodia will moderate.

East Asia: Recent exceptional deficits in Mongolia into Northeast China, on the Korean Peninsula, and in Honshu, Japan are expected to moderate in the near term – August through October – but severe to extreme deficits will continue to emerge in the northeast and moderate deficits will emerge from southern Gansu to the East China Sea. Widespread surpluses are forecast across much of southern China. After October intense deficits in northwestern China will increase in extent in Xinjiang through Inner Mongolia and Mongolia, and deficits of lesser severity will continue to emerge in Northeast China and in the North China Plain.

Australia: Exceptional water deficits observed in recent months over much of Australia should diminish considerably in the near-term and through April 2018. However, significant deficits are forecast through October in: Western Australia from the Hamersley Range to the southernmost tip; southeastern Australia and Tasmania; the north across Northern Territory and Queensland; and, New Caledonia. Deficits may be exceptional north and south of Perth; east of Melbourne; central Tasmania; around the Gulf of Carpentaria; and Darwin. Along Queensland’s northeast coast surpluses will persist near Mackay. Past October moderate deficits will continue to emerge in Victoria and New South Wales.

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