After three years of research, the project TASK, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, is now ready for operational use. Reservoir operators and all those who are in need of seasonal forecasts for foresighted water management can now apply TASK in order to detect drought situations as early as possible. In doing so, results of TASK forecasts can be integrated into strategic decision-making processes to prepare for water deficits.
TASK is an approach which combines forecasts from global weather models of NOAA and ECMWF with observations from ground stations to calculate hydro-meteorological indices. These indices are used to obtain robust tendencies of expected hydrologic conditions in the upcoming months. SYDRO is continously working on the TASK approach to enhance the lead time. The potential of the approach is huge and not limited to Germany, considering the fact that the models of NOAA and ECMWF work better in tropical and sub-tropical regions.