The forecast through April indicates water deficits of varying intensity across many regions in northern Africa. Exceptional deficits will retreat from the Horn. Widespread surpluses will persist in East Africa, downgrading slightly. Southern African nations can expect normal conditions or mild deficits.
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.
Africa: Pockets of intense water deficits will persist in Namibia
The forecast through July indicates that water deficits will downgrade in the southern half of the continent and across its midsection from the Gulf of Guinea to the Horn of Africa but will intensify across northern Africa with exceptional deficits expected. Moderate to severe deficits are forecast in the south, with intense deficits in Namibia. Areas of surpluses include Tanzania, northern Madagascar, the mouth of the Congo River, and the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea.
Africa: Water deficits to downgrade in the south, intensify in the north
The forecast through June indicates that water deficits will downgrade in the southern half of the continent and its midsection but will intensify across the north. In the Horn, deficits will downgrade but exceptional deficits are forecast for Somalia from the Jubba River past the Shabelle River. Intense deficits are expected in Zambia, Zimbabwe, southwestern Angola, and the Okavango Delta. Areas of surplus include western Tanzania and south-central Chad.