Major rivers in Africa ran drier than usual in 2021, finds WMO

December 6, 2022
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN Topics

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Major rivers in Africa ran drier than usual in 2021, finds WMO

Subject: Geography

Context:

The volume of water in Africa’s major rivers decreased in 2021 compared to the average in the last two decades, according to a new report by a United Nations body.

State of Global Water Resources report-

The first edition was published by the WMO.
The water discharge of Niger, Volta, Nile and Congo rivers in 2021 was less than the average calculated from 2002-2020.
The water storage levels in the river basins, however, have gone up since 2002, an anomaly compared to the rest of the world.
The water storage levels, also known as terrestrial water storage (TWS), in these river basins have gradually increased since 2002.
The rise in TWS was seen in Congo, Nile, Zambezi, Orange, Lake Victoria and other parts of North Africa and Madagascar.
The rise in water storage in Lake Victoria due to intense rains were attributed to climate change.
TWS has gone down in all other continents other than Africa from 2002-2021.

Lake victoria-

Lake Victoria, also called Victoria Nyanza, largest lake in Africa and chief reservoir of the Nile, lying mainly in Tanzania and Uganda but bordering on Kenya.
Its area is 26,828 square miles (69,484 square km).
Among the freshwater lakes of the world, it is exceeded in size only by Lake Superior in North America.
It is an irregular quadrilateral in shape.
Many archipelagos are contained within the lake, as are numerous reefs, often just below the surface of the clear waters.
Lake Victoria has more than 200 species of fish, of which the Tilapia is the most economically important.

Important rivers of Africa-

River Nile	This is the longest river in the world. It starts from many streams in the equatorial rainforest of the Lake Victoria and Ruwenzori Mountain (the mountains of the moon) region. From Lake Albert, it flows as the White Nile. At Khartoum, it is joined by the Blue Nile which starts from Lake Tana on the Ethiopian Highlands. The Nile flows from 3,000 kilometers through the dry Sahara Desert of Egypt and enters the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt is called the gift of the Nile because without the river it would have been a desert. Cotton cultivation, Petroleum at mouth, navigable, irrigation Aswan dam, lake Naseer Port Said and Alexandria at the mouth Cairo, Giza, Khartoum cities are on River Nile
River Congo or Zaire	The Congo is the second-longest river in Africa. It starts from the south-west of Lake Tanganyika and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The Zaire basin is one of the wettest regions of the Earth and is covered with dense impenetrable jungle. The river and its network of tributaries are not navigable because of rapids and waterfalls caused by the descent from the plateau to the coast. Origin: Katanga Plateau Boyoma waterfall Pigmy tribes Petroleum reserve at the mouth Crosses equator twice
River Niger	This river is the chief river of West Africa. It rises from the Fout Djllon Mountain quite close to the sea but flows north and then turns south again to form a wide arc. Finally, it joins the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean.
River Zambezi	River Zambezi flows into the Indian Ocean. The famous Victoria Falls at the head of a long gorge is on this river.
River Limpopo	River Limpopo also flows into the Indian Oceans, which crosses the Tropic of Capricorn twice.
River Orange	This flows from the Drakensberg Mountains into the Atlantic Ocean.

Important lakes of Africa-

Victoria	Tropical Lake, 2nd largest freshwater lake in the world.
Tanganyika	Rift Valley Lake, largest lake by volume in the world.
Malawi	African Rift Valley
Turkana	Alkaline Lake
Lake Albert	Western Rift
Lake Edward	Drain North into Lake Albert
Lake Kivu	Ruzizi River
Lake Tana	On the Ethiopian Plateau. It is the source of the Blue Nile.
Lake Chad	At the southern edge in the Sahara Desert is in a region of inland drainage.
Lake Kariba	Situated in the southernmost part of Africa a Zambezi river. It is one of the biggest looks man-made like and it is the largest producer of hydroelectricity in Africa.
Lake Assal	Situated in Djibouti and the lowest point in Africa.