Salween River

Southeast Asia & the Pacific: Exceptional water surpluses forecast on Mekong River

Southeast Asia & the Pacific: Exceptional water surpluses forecast on Mekong River

Through October, water surpluses will persist with intensity in western Myanmar, retreat from northwestern Thailand, downgrade slightly in Laos and Vietnam, shrink considerably in the Philippines, and nearly disappear in Malaysia and Indonesia. Exceptional surpluses are forecast along the Mekong River. Deficits north of Tonle Sap in Cambodia will intensify. Deficits are also forecast for the Malay Peninsula, western Indonesian Borneo, southern Sumatra, Java, Timor-Leste, and Papua New Guinea.

Southeast Asia & the Pacific: Water surplus forecast for Myanmar, Vietnam, Philippines

Southeast Asia & the Pacific: Water surplus forecast for Myanmar, Vietnam, Philippines

Cambodia continues to stand out through May in Southeast Asia with exceptional water deficit in the west. Surpluses are forecast for much of the rest of Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, and may be especially intense in western Myanmar, around the Gulf of Tonkin, central Philippines, and Brunei. Deficits will emerge in the southern tip of Sumatra and into Java, but are expected to nearly disappear in Papua New Guinea, persisting mainly around the Gulf of Papua. After May, surpluses in the region will retreat and Cambodia will return to near-normal conditions.

Southeast Asia & the Pacific: Gradual transition from water surplus to deficit

Southeast Asia & the Pacific: Gradual transition from water surplus to deficit

The forecast indicates a transition away from widespread water surpluses and towards the gradual emergence of deficits. Exceptional deficits in western Cambodia are expected to persist through February or longer, but should diminish in extent after November. From September through November moderate deficits will begin to emerge in Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, southern Sumatra, and Java, and thereafter in Borneo and Sulawesi.

East Asia: Water deficits forecast to continue in North & Northeast, surpluses in South

East Asia: Water deficits forecast to continue in North & Northeast, surpluses in South

Recent exceptional deficits in Mongolia into Northeast China, on the Korean Peninsula, and in Honshu, Japan are expected to moderate in the near term – August through October – but severe to extreme deficits will continue to emerge in the northeast and moderate deficits will emerge from southern Gansu to the East China Sea. Widespread surpluses are forecast across much of southern China. After October intense deficits in northwestern China will increase in extent, in Xinjiang through Inner Mongolia and Mongolia, and deficits of lesser severity will continue to emerge in the Northeast China and in the North China Plain. 

Southeast Asia & the Pacific: Retreat of water surpluses forecast

Southeast Asia & the Pacific: Retreat of water surpluses forecast

Though a significant retreat of exceptional water surplus in the region is forecast through October, exceptional surpluses remain in the forecast for: western Myanmar; eastern Thailand into southern Laos; and, southeastern Sulawesi and Sumbawa and Flores Islands in Indonesia. Exceptional deficits are forecast for a large block of western Cambodia, and deficits of varying severity are forecast for the Mekong Delta, southern Thailand, Singapore, Malaysian Borneo, southern Sumatra, and pockets in central Papua New Guinea. After October, near-normal conditions are expected in many parts of the region and deficits in western Cambodia will moderate.