The near-term forecast through September shows a distribution pattern of water anomalies similar to the prior three months with some decrease in intensity. However, surpluses are forecast to increase in the central Gulf Coast. Beyond September water anomalies will continue to become less severe, though pockets of exceptional surplus will persist in Idaho and its neighbors. The forecast through March 2018 indicates the emergence of primarily moderate surpluses in many parts of the country.
Canada: Water surplus in southern ON to persist through September
Exceptional water surpluses in southern Ontario west of Toronto are forecast to persist through September, as are exceptional deficits in eastern Ontario and central Quebec. After September moderate drought conditions are expected to persist in northwest Ontario, northern Manitoba, and northern British Columbia. Recent exceptional surplus conditions in Manitoba west of Lake Winnipeg, and in northwestern Saskatchewan into Alberta are expected to continue throughout the forecast period into early 2018.
Africa: Water deficits forecast to emerge in Botswana, NE Namibia
The extent of exceptional water deficits is expected to diminish considerably after September, though deficits of varying severity will remain in the forecast and will likely be more severe in the northern half of the continent. In the near-term, July through September, severe to exceptional deficits are forecast in the desert regions of the northern nations, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, northern Niger, and northern Sudan; and also in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Exceptional deficits will retreat in southern Namibia during this period but will emerge in the northeastern portion of the country, eastward into neighboring Botswana and across the border into South Africa. Exceptional surpluses are forecast to continue in eastern Tanzania though September but will retreat to the coast by December.
Southeast Asia & the Pacific: Water deficits in Cambodia and Mekong Delta
The July through September forecast shows the near absence of widespread surpluses observed in prior months. However, exceptional surpluses are forecast for western Myanmar; northern Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Thailand; the extreme southeastern region of Sulawesi; and Flores Island in Indonesia. Severe to exceptional deficits are indicated in much of Cambodia, in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, and in central Papua New Guinea. In the October-December timeframe moderate deficits are indicated in many parts of the region, and thereafter deficits in Southeast Asia may intensity.
South America: Exceptional water deficits in Brazil forecast to retreat to the north after September
Recently observed conditions across the whole of South America are expected to persist through September with a slight decrease in the extent of exceptional water deficits in much of Brazil north of Rio de Janeiro. Surpluses in eastern Paraguay and southern Brazil should transition to near-normal conditions during this period, but exceptional surpluses are expected to persist in La Pampa and Buenos Aires Provinces in Argentina. After September conditions are forecast to improve across the continent though exceptional water deficits will persist in Amapá and northern Pará, Brazil and in nearby northern regions.