With media attention focused on the dire water situation in Cape Town, South Africa - the city is currently expected to run out of water on 16 April - some of our followers are asking why our most recent blog post and maps didn't echo the alarm. Our 12-month forecast ending September 2018 shows merely "moderate" water deficits ahead for the region, something you'd expect to see once every 5 to 10 years. Certainly no alarming red blobs indicating "exceptional" water deficits, those that might occur only once in 40 or more years. How can that be, given the desperate and very real situation in Cape Town right now?
United States: Water deficits forecast MO, LA, & Mid-Atlantic States
Water deficits in the Southwest and Southern California will moderate overall in the near-term. Intense deficits will spread in Missouri, persist in northern Louisiana and central Mississippi into central Alabama, and emerge in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Surpluses are forecast for Idaho, western Montana, southern Wyoming, central Nebraska, Minnesota into Wisconsin, and Michigan. After March, primarily moderate deficits will continue to emerge from California to North Carolina, and surpluses are forecast for Idaho, western Montana, northwestern Wyoming, and along the Columbia, Missouri, and Yellowstone Rivers.
Central Asia & Russia: Water deficits in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
The forecast through March indicates exceptional surpluses in European Russia, along the Middle Ob River, the Tom River Basin, and Aktobe Region, Kazakhstan. Surpluses are also forecast for much of the Yenisei River. Exceptional deficits are expected in the Yamal Peninsula. Intense deficits are forecast for Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. After March, surpluses in Russia are forecast to diminish. Deficits will downgrade in Yamal, persist in Turkmenistan, and spread in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Moderate deficits will emerge in the Caucasus, western Kyrgyzstan and western Tajikistan.
South America: Much wetter than normal conditions forecast for Paraguay
A number of significant transitions are forecast for the next three months. Though exceptional water deficits will diminish across northern South America – transitioning to surplus in many northern nations and the northern Amazon Basin – deficits will intensify in eastern Brazil. Surpluses are forecast to emerge throughout Paraguay and into southern Brazil. Surpluses in Uruguay will transition to moderate deficit; Buenos Aires Province, Argentina will transition from surplus to near-normal. After March, water anomalies will moderate considerably across most of the continent.
Mexico, Central America, & the Caribbean: Water deficits forecast for Baja & Nayarit
Intense water deficits across northwestern Mexico are expected to moderate from January through March, but moderate to severe deficits will spread in the north-central states. Intense deficits will emerge in Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, and Michoacán. Deficits in western Cuba will moderate. Significant surpluses are expected to persist in Honduras, Nicaragua, northern Costa Rica, and Jamaica. After March, deficits are forecast in northern Mexico, moderate surpluses along the southwestern coast, and surpluses in Central America will diminish.