The forecast through October indicates widespread water surpluses in India and Pakistan, exceptional in many regions of Pakistan and in central Rajasthan. Surpluses are forecast in eastern Afghanistan and some deficits in the west and north.
South Asia: Exceptional water deficits will persist in Afghanistan
Exceptional water deficits are forecast to persist in Afghanistan, retreating slightly in the north but increasing in the south. Pakistan should get a reprieve as intense deficits diminish considerably, leaving moderate to severe conditions in western Baluchistan. India will transition out of widespread deficit to milder conditions, with moderate deficits in the south and more severe deficits in the Far Northeast, particularly Assam. Surpluses will downgrade to moderate in West Bengal, and will shrink and downgrade in Bangladesh while remaining fairly intense, especially in Dhaka Division.
South Asia: Widespread water deficits forecast in India, esp Madhya Pradesh & Karnataka
Through May 2018 intense water deficits are forecast in central India and intense water surpluses in Bangladesh. In the near-term through February, deficits are forecast throughout most of India with exceptional deficits expected in eastern Gujarat and Karnataka. Exceptional surpluses are expected in West Bengal, Tripura, Mizoram, eastern Jammu and Kashmir, and the Pennar River Basin in southern India. Moderate deficits are forecast for Pakistan and Afghanistan with some pockets of exceptional deficit in the northeast. Surpluses are forecast for western Bhutan and much of Nepal.