World Bank - Sudan and Nile Basin Hydrometeorologic Monitoring and Forecasting

Overview

Sudan is the third largest country in Africa. The country receives an average of 250mm of rain per year, and is highly dependent on the Nile River, as well as groundwater and limited other sources for freshwater.  Over half the country is bare rocks and soil; and it is considered to be "beyond the barrier," or beyond water stressed on the Social Water Scarcity Index.

Despite these conditions, the surface waters provided by the Blue and White Nile Rivers and their tributaries result in a significant potential for irrigated agricultural adjacent to the Nile River. Agriculture, irrigated and rain-fed, is an important economic activity and source of livelihoods in the country, accounting for about 95 percent of the country's exports. Because of the hot and dry conditions in the country, agriculture accounts for 96 percent of the country's overall water consumption. Rehabilitating existing infrastructure and modernizing the irrigation schemes, with a focus on increasing water use efficiency, through technology adoption and institutional strengthening, can present opportunities for increasing food security, improving livelihoods, and advancing economic growth in Sudan.

However, climate change is increasing the variability and uncertainty around the timing and amounts of the Nile's flows. This could offer additional opportunities or challenges related to irrigation – e.g. enable Sudanese farmers to grow crops throughout the year and reduce flood and sediment-related challenges, while increasing demand for the already scarce water resources.  Also importantly, the regulated hydrological flows of the Blue Nile and Main Nile in Sudan could significantly increase year-round hydropower generation potential from existing infrastructure. 

In this context, the Government of Sudan has requested technical assistance and capacity building support from the World Bank to enhance its water resources management with short term and seasonal forecasts. This website (and associated links) is part of a project, Enhancing Water Resource Management in Sudan (Project ID: P162480), that is directed by the World Bank Group and is devoted to assisting the Government of Sudan in enhancing their rainfall and river flow forecasting systems for the Nile Basin.

Sudan Rainfall

This interactive map displays satellite-based rainfall estimates and precipitation forecasts for each watershed. Zoom in to see rainfall estimates on more detailed sub-catchments. The satellite precipitation is a merged product of NASA TRMM, NOAA CMORPH, and JAXA GSMaP precipitation and is provided immediately after the 24-hr accumulation is complete.  The forecasts are based on Canada Meteorological Centre (CMC), European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), US National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), and UK Met Office control run predictions.  The forecast data are provided on a 2-day delay.