Asia Update #32: Some Improvement in South Asia

There has been measurable improvement across southern Asia as rains have intensified, particularly in southern India and along the front range of the Himalayas. Dry weather continues across southern China, and into parts of southeast Asia. The Middle East remains seasonably dry.

Rainfall picked up significantly across south Asia over the last week. However, much of this fits into the seasonal uptick in the rains. Some of it, however has chipped away at the negative precipitation anomalies in southern India and along the front range of the Himalayas. Some areas in Nepal, Bhutan and parts of northeast India have seen their precipitation deficits shrink, and in a few isolated cases turn positive. Areas of India that had significant precipitation deficits last year, particularly Orissa, West Bengal and Jharkhand, have remained at or above climatology to this point in the season.

Southern China's drought, which may have spread westward into India (although it could also just be a slow start to the monsoon in Assam and other nearby states) may also be spreading southward. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia all have season long deficits. Meanwhile in Thailand, what started off as a good rainy season, has slowed considerably, as an ongoing dry spell threatens to send season-long positive anomalies into negative territory.

Rainfall across the Middle East remains near average, with much of the rain staying in Turkey. Seasonably dry weather will continue in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen as protests (uprisings?) continue.