The March through May forecast indicates some relief from water deficit conditions for many parts of India. However, severe to extreme deficits are forecast to persist in Gujarat and moderate deficits are forecast in Uttarakhand, southern India, and Sri Lanka. Surpluses ranging from moderate to exceptional are forecast for the eastern Ganges Basin, the eastern two-thirds of Nepal, and Bangladesh. Surpluses are also expected along the northern tributaries of the Indus River in Pakistan and in eastern Afghanistan.
South Asia: Water deficits continue to emerge in India, surpluses in NE Afghanistan
Though the extent of exceptional deficits in southern India is forecast to diminish February through April, deficits will emerge across the country’s mid-section in places which, in the prior three months, had seen normal or surplus water conditions. Exceptional deficits are forecast for Gujarat and northeast India; and in Karachi, Pakistan. Surpluses are forecast along major rivers in northeastern Pakistan, throughout Afghanistan, and in eastern Nepal. From May through July deficits in India will diminish considerably in severity except in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Surpluses will continue to emerge in Afghanistan and may be exceptional in the Upper Helmand Basin.
South Asia: Exceptional water deficits in Gujarat and southern India
Exceptional water deficits will persist in southern India through February and will emerge in Gujarat and persist through May. Surpluses in the Chambal and Ganges Basins will transition to both deficits and surpluses through February, after which surpluses are forecast in West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Bihar. Surpluses are forecast in western Myanmar through February, and in Nepal and Bangladesh through May. Moderate deficits are expected in southern Pakistan through February.
South Asia: Exceptional water deficits to persist in Karnataka, Kerala
In India from November through January exceptional water deficits are forecast to persist in Karnataka and Kerala, diminish in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and emerge in northern states and coastal Gujarat. Surpluses are forecast along the Banas River, and in Nepal, Bangladesh, and western Myanmar, and are expected to persist through April. From February through April exceptional deficits will emerge throughout Gujarat. Surpluses will persist in the Chambal River Basin and will re-emerge in the Ganges Basin.
ISciences Worldwide Water Watch List November 2016
Regions likely to encounter significant water deficits in the coming months include: the US South, Oaxaca (Mexico), Chile, Scandinavia, southeastern Ethiopia and southern Somalia, Iran, the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Gujarat, and Cambodia. Water surpluses are forecast for: the US Northwest and Upper Midwest, eastern North Carolina, southern British Columbia (Canada), Nicaragua, eastern Romania, southern Belarus, northeastern Poland, Nepal, Bangladesh, western Myanmar, Java, Shanghai, Fujian, and the Warrego River Basin (Australia). This watch list is based on ISciences Water Security Indicator Model (WSIM) Global Water Monitor and Forecast issued 9 November 2016.