Though the extent of exceptional water deficits across the continent will diminish from March through May, severe to exceptional deficits will continue to emerge across northern Africa, especially in Niger. Exceptional deficits are also forecast in southern Somalia and southern Gabon. Deficits are also expected in Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, southeastern Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, northern Angola, Uganda, western Tanzania, Kenya, and northeastern Mozambique. Surpluses are expected in southeast Sudan, the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana into western Zambia, Zimbabwe, and northern South Africa. From June through August the overall picture will remain much the same, but worth noting is that extreme to exceptional deficits are forecast for nearly all of Egypt during this period, and deficits will emerge in Somaliland, northern Cameroon, and southern Angola.
Africa: Exceptional water deficits recede but widespread deficits persist
The extent of exceptional deficits across the continent will diminish through April, but moderate to extreme deficits will persist across northern Africa and across Africa’s mid-section from Gabon to southern Somalia. Deficits will diminish considerably in Madagascar though persist in the south. Surpluses are forecast in the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana, southern Zambia, Zimbabwe, and western Mozambique. The forecast for May through July indicates a downgrade in the intensity of deficits in the southern Sahel and an increase in the intensity of deficits across northern Africa where extreme to exceptional deficits are expected to emerge in eastern Algeria, northern Niger, Libya, Egypt, and northern Sudan.
Africa: Water deficits persist, surpluses forecast for Botswana
The extent of exceptional water deficits across the continent is forecast to diminish through March, though extreme deficits will continue to emerge in some areas of the Sahel. A large pocket of surplus is forecast to emerge at the intersection of Angola, Namibia, and Botswana. From April through June the intensity of deficits across northern Africa will increase while diminishing from the southern Sahel through southern Africa.
Africa: Water deficits across northern Africa
The extent of exceptional deficits across the African continent will diminish considerably through February, but pockets of extreme deficits will persist in eastern Ethiopia and Somalia through February and will emerge in Benin and Nigeria. Thereafter, deficits of notable severity will emerge in Niger, northern Sudan, and Egypt. Exceptional surpluses will persist through February surrounding Bangui in Central African Republic and through May around the White Nile in southeast Sudan and South Sudan.
Africa: Transitioning away from exceptional deficits
The extent of exceptional deficits across southern Africa is forecast to shrink dramatically in the next few months with some modest water surplus in eastern Zambia. Across the north, exceptional deficits will also shrink but pockets will remain in eastern Ethiopia, southern Somalia, and will emerge in western Mauritania. Deficits will also persist in eastern Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of the Congo.