The forecast through August indicates that water surpluses will shrink in India, leaving a broad path from Gujarat into the Gangetic Plain. Surpluses will moderate in Bangladesh, but remain widespread and intense in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Conditions in Tamil Nadu will normalize from prior deficit.
South Asia: Intense water surplus to persist in Pakistan
The forecast through June indicates that widespread water surpluses in India will shrink leaving nearly normal conditions in the east. Surpluses will persist, however, in many regions including central India, the Far North, and the Gangetic Plain; and, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Deficits will emerge in India’s Far Northeast.
South Asia: Intense Water Deficits forecast to persist in Madhya Pradesh & Afghanistan
India will transition out of widespread water deficit except in Madhya Pradesh where exceptional deficit is forecast through June. Surplus is forecast in western Andhra Pradesh, India’s southern tip, Odisha, Gujarat, the far north, the Ganges watershed, the Narmada River, central Nepal, and Bangladesh. Intense deficits will continue to emerge in Afghanistan, but diminish in Pakistan except for Karachi where conditions will be exceptional. After June, intense deficits will persist in Afghanistan while anomalies elsewhere in South Asia are expected to be relatively modest.
ISciences Worldwide Water Watch List April 2018
Regions forecast to have significant water deficits for the 12-month period from January 2018 through December 2018 include: the US Southwest, Brazil, southern Venezuela, northern Africa, Gabon, Zambia, Finland, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. Areas with a forecast of significant water surplus include: Idaho, southern British Columbia, Tanzania, Hungary, southern Romania, and Ukraine. This Watch List is based on ISciences Water Security Indicator Model (WSIM) run on 10 April 2018.
South Asia: Surpluses to persist in eastern Ganges basin, Nepal, Bangladesh
Water surpluses in Rajasthan, India are forecast to transition to both deficit and surplus in the next few months, while surpluses in the eastern Ganges basin persist. Surpluses are also forecast for: Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. Deficits are forecast north of Delhi, in India’s southern tip, and in Sri Lanka. From January through March deficits in India’s north and south, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Pakistan will diminish, but exceptional deficits are forecast in Gujarat.