Though water surpluses are forecast for many parts of the region through February, exceptional deficits will persist in Cambodia through May. Exceptional surpluses are forecast to persist through February in Laos and in central Vietnam through May. Surpluses of lesser severity are forecast for the next three months in the southern Malay Peninsula, Java, southern Vietnam, and Gorontalo, Indonesia.
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.
Central Asia & Russia: Water deficits in Siberia, surpluses in Kazakhstan
Drier than normal conditions will persist in many parts of northern Russia from the White Sea past the Central Siberian Plateau through August 2017, though the extent of exceptional deficits will diminish somewhat. Both surpluses and deficits are forecast for the Ural River watershed in northwestern Kazakhstan, and surpluses are forecast for central and eastern Kazakhstan. Overall, moderate deficits are forecast for Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and surpluses in Kyrgyzstan.
Middle East: Widespread water deficits of varying severity
The overall progression of water anomalies forecast through August 2017 indicates that widespread water deficits will persist throughout the Middle East, first diminishing in severity through February – with a significant reduction in the extent of exceptional deficits – before increasing in both extent and severity thereafter. Extreme deficits are forecast for southern Oman from March through May.
Africa: Water deficits across northern Africa
The extent of exceptional deficits across the African continent will diminish considerably through February, but pockets of extreme deficits will persist in eastern Ethiopia and Somalia through February and will emerge in Benin and Nigeria. Thereafter, deficits of notable severity will emerge in Niger, northern Sudan, and Egypt. Exceptional surpluses will persist through February surrounding Bangui in Central African Republic and through May around the White Nile in southeast Sudan and South Sudan.





