Okavango Delta levels at record lows

Posted by Botswana Safari News on May 15, 2019 | No comments

The Department of Water Affairs have observed that the 2019 Okavango flooding may be one of the lowest recorded in history.

The lowest flood recorded to date was 5863 cubic metr

es per second which was recorded in Mohembo station in 1996. Botswana’s hydrological year is normally measured from October to November of the following year. The term hydrological year describe a time period of 12 months for which water level totals are measured.

For the hydrology of the Okavango Delta, from October 2018 to April 2019, 2909 cubic metres per second of water was recorded at Mohembo.  During the previous hydrological year (October 2017 to November 2018), 3181 cubic metres of water have reached Mohembo during that period.

 The Okavango basin naturally experience wet and drier spells; the wetter period was recorded between 1950- 1968 while 1982-2005 was the driest period.

pic credit: Great Plains