Geographia Technica, Vol 19, Issue 2, 2024, pp. 175-185
SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIATIONS IN SURFACE WATER QUALITY: A CONTINENTAL REVIEW
Mary NGATIA, Shadrack M. KITHIIA 
, Mihai VODA , Ronald SSEMBAJWE
ABSTRACT: Surface water quality is a critical component of environmental health and sustainability. Its variations across space and time are influenced by numerous factors, including natural processes, human activities, and climate change. While the water quality is a critical issue, it is important to understand the spatial, temporal variations and the pollution sources that contribute to the variations. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the spatial and temporal variations in surface water quality on a continental scale: Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Africa. This study used cluster analysis for a comparative approach based on papers published between 2002 and 2022. Our findings prove that domestic effluent discharges, agricultural runoffs and industrial discharges on the river basins represent the main contributors of water quality variations observed and consequently water pollution.
Keywords: Multivariate techniques, Cluster Analysis (CA), Water pollution
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