HYDROLOGICAL DROUGHT FROM JANUARY TO APRIL 2020

Abstract

From January to April 2020, the river stages in Slovenia were below normal due to the lack of precipitation. The rivers mostly had low flows. The winter drought was pronounced in January and February, when the rivers had about 60% of the average amount of water from the comparative period 1981-2010. The river stages in March were close to normal, while in April the river stages were again extremely low. The rivers had only a third of the usual amount of water in April. The lowest mean daily discharges were within the limits of the lowest periodic values, and the 30-day average discharges fell below the minimum periodic values in the driest areas. The standardized streamflow index also places April among the extremely dry months. Hydrological drought was particularly reflected in the southern part of the country, where the index was less than -2 in many places, which means extreme drought.