Monthly maps for discharge anomalies and Lowest alert level exceedance with a summary of the monthly hydrological situation.


Hydrological situation for February 2023

Figure 1. Exceedance of lowest discharge threshold level for February 2023
Figure 1. Exceedance of lowest discharge threshold level for February 2023
Figure 2. Exceedance of lowest water level threshold level for February 2023
Figure 2. Exceedance of lowest water level threshold level for February 2023
Figure 3. Classification of stations according to discharge historical data average percentile ranges for February 2023
Figure 3. Classification of stations according to discharge historical data average percentile ranges for February 2023

by EFAS Hydrological Data Collection Centre

During the month of February, there were 137 stations with exceedances, 47% less than in the previous month. Most of the stations are in Poland (33) all of them related to water level. In Spain, there are 14 stations with exceedances (both discharge and water level). Iceland (discharge) and Germany (mainly water level) have 12 stations each, while Croatia also stands out with 11 stations.

In addition, there are nine stations in Ukraine, eight in Italy and Romania, six in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and five in Hungary, Slovakia, and Serbia. Several countries have less than five exceedances this month: Norway (three), Sweden, and Austria (two), and only one station with values above the threshold on Israel and Lithuania.

As for the river basins, the main basin with values above the threshold, again, is the Danube, with 44 stations across nine different countries, with Croatia and Romania standing out with 10 and eight exceedances respectively. The Vistula River in Poland is the next basin with the highest number of stations (27), plus one in Ukraine. A total of 36 different river basins have experienced exceedances in February.

In terms of the stations that recorded values above the 90% quantile, 115 exceeded this threshold in February, nearly half of the previous month. In February, Norway was the country with the most stations in this situation (27), the same that in January. Spain and Poland (19 each) are the countries with the next highest number of stations. The Norwegian stations are distributed in 18 different basins, highlighting the Glomma river, with seven stations in this situation. In Spain, the Guadiana and Ebro river basins have the highest number of exceedance in the country, and in Poland, all stations are in the Vistula river Basin. In Sweden, 13 stations show values above this quantile. In Ukraine, there are nine stations that exceed this cliff, and eight in Iceland. Other stations exceed the 90% quantile value in up to eight countries.

By river basin, it is the aforementioned Vistula River which stands out with 27 stations. The Danube river basin is the second with the highest number of stations over this cliff, showing 12 stations in this situation and followed by the Dnieper with nine. A total of 52 different river basins have experienced exceedances over the 90% quantile in February.

Finally, and according to the number of stations recording mean values below the 10% quantile, we can find an increase of four times. In the month of February, there were 172 stations with average values below this cliff, which means 15 different countries.

This month, France is the country with the most stations (103), followed by Spain with 21 stations. Germany and Italy have nine and eight stations, respectively, with values below this threshold. With six stations we found England, Ireland, and Luxembourg.  Belgium, Poland, Bulgaria, Norway, Croatia, Netherlands, Romania, and Switzerland also have a different number of stations in this situation.

In terms of river basins, this month the Loire in France is the river with the highest number of cases, with 37 stations with an average discharge below the 10% quantile. The Seine river has 20 stations in the same situation. Outside of France, the Ebro River is the next basin with the highest number of stations under this cliff (13). In total, as many as 32 different basins have values below this limit.