A recent technical mission to South Africa for the WaRisCo project brought together research progress, knowledge sharing, and direct engagement with partners in water resources management. The mission supported ongoing work under the WaRisCo project and strengthened links with experts across the region. Three main activities shaped the visit and offered an opportunity for exchange, learning, and collaboration with groups working on hydrology and climate challenges.
SASAS Conference 2025
The mission began with participation in the SASAS 2025 International Conference. SYDRO Consult presented the current WaRisCo work on hydrological modelling for the Integrated Vaal River System. The presentation included recent progress on model structure, initial outputs from simulations, and ongoing calibration steps. The talk also covered recent work with km-scale climate simulations produced through partnerships across the project.
The session created a useful space for discussion with researchers, and many questions focused on model resolution, data handling, and practical use of results for planning. SYDRO Consult was represented by Dr. Ing. Muhammad Fraz Ismail, who highlighted links between climate projections and operational decisions in large river systems. Several researchers and water managers expressed interest in how km-scale data supports flood and drought assessments across complex catchments. Dialogue during and after the session supported better understanding of regional data needs and helped refine future directions for the hydrological modelling component.
The conference allowed direct exchange with other groups working on climate downscaling, catchment modelling, and water allocation studies. Conversations with scientists working on CORDEX-related datasets informed future use of ensemble information in WaRisCo workflows. These exchanges strengthened technical foundations for the next phase of modelling activities.
WaRisCo Summer School on Modelling Hydro-Climatic Extremes
The mission continued with participation in the WaRisCo Summer School at the Skukuza Conference Centre in the Kruger National Park. The event gathered postgraduate students, early career researchers, and senior practitioners from across the Southern African region. The programme aimed at training for hydro-climatic extremes, with a focus on droughts and floods across a region facing strong climatic pressures (e.g., the Greater Durban region and the Integrated Vaal River System).
The consultant contributed to sessions on climate modelling and hydrological modelling. First day covered climate modelling basics, NetCDF handling, and methods for working with CORDEX CORE ensembles. Participants learned how NetCDF files store climate variables in structured arrays. Exercises guided participants through reading, plotting, and processing data. The group accessed regional projections through the Climate Services Gateway and practiced steps for comparing ensemble members to explore spread and uncertainty. SYDRO Consult provided support during practical work and explained common steps used in WaRisCo climate workflows.
Day two focused on regional climate modelling with sessions on CCAM and REMO. The group worked with regional outputs for Southern Africa and discussed downscaling approaches used by modelling centres. Training then shifted to hydroclimatic fact sheets. Participants helped develop short summaries of climate drivers, temperature trends, rainfall signals, and extreme event indicators. These fact sheets will support stakeholders who need quick references for regional climate patterns. The afternoon introduced hydrological modelling. SYDRO Consult demonstrated how hydrological models structure inputs, simulate catchment processes, and produce discharge time series. Participants explored concepts of rainfall runoff links and soil moisture dynamics. Day three focused on the full hydrological model setup. Training exercises followed a step-by-step approach covering data preparation, parameter selection, and calibration routines. Dr.-Ing. Muhammad Fraz Ismail guided activities for the Talsim hydrological model and the QTalsim plugin (a QGIS plugin for input data preparation). The hands-on format helped participants understand the strengths and limits of each model type. Participants praised the Summer School for practical value and strong engagement from trainers.
Project Meetings and Stakeholder Workshops
The final part of the mission involved direct meetings with partners involved in river system planning and water resource management. SYDRO Consult joined a technical workshop on land use management and land cover change across the KwaZulu-Natal River System and the Integrated Vaal River System. Discussion focused on recent shifts in land cover and hydrological response, and steps for integrating land cover data into flood and drought assessments.
SYDRO Consult discussed the ideas with the representative of the city of eThekwini on how the outcome of the WaRisCo project (based on Talsim Hydrological Model) can help in the development of future flood lines for the uMngeni catchment. In the meeting with the Department of Water and Sanitation in Johannesburg, the consultant highlighted how the WaRisCo project outcome can help in the development of Disaster Risk Reduction Plans. The DWS representatives emphasised interest in ensemble-based assessments of inflow variability and future water availability for the integrated Vaal River System. Shared priorities will guide the next phases of analysis and support the uptake of results across management divisions.
The mission strengthened technical capacity, advanced hydro-climatic modelling work, and expanded engagement with partners across the climate and water sector. Conference participation supported scientific exchange. The Summer School strengthened skills among early-career researchers and practitioners. Meetings with stakeholders aligned project outputs with planning needs across major river systems in South Africa. Experience gathered during the mission will support ongoing progress within WaRisCo and help guide further collaboration with partners.