The water level in Mopti has increased with 22 cm last week and reached a level of 617 cm on 28 August. That is high in comparison to all water levels measured on this date in the last fifty years, and even 4 cm higher than the maximum level last year. The rise in water level now seems to be levelling off, as the average daily rise is half that of the previous week.
The forecast for the coming weeks is an enhanced chance of above-average rainfall in the Upper Niger Basin but also further downstream. This makes a high flood even more likely, and OPIDIN still predicts that the maximum of the flood will be high in 2024, probably as high or even higher than in 2020 and 2022 (670 - 675 cm in Mopti). The flood prediction is, however, still unsure and may vary depending on the amount of rainfall the coming weeks.
