ABSTRACT

The objective of hydrological forecasting is to provide a quantitative estimate of the future state of various hydrological variables (e.g., river discharge or stage, groundwater level) or their change over a given forthcoming time period. Forecasting provides information for the real-time management of water resources and associated hydrological risks. It is different from prediction (often referred to as “predetermination” in French-speaking countries), the objective of which is to associate a non-exceedance probability to these hydrological variables, but not for any predefi ned time in the future.