Asia Update #47: Heavy Rains Slam China, Southeast Asia

Heavy rainfall returned to China, although it shifted further north, flooding remains a major concern. In southeast Asia, onshore flow out of the South China Sea continued pump moisture into Laos and Vietnam causing localized flooding. Rainfall is starting to taper off across south Asia as the season is coming to a close.

Flooding rains from two weeks ago continued into this past week across China. Heavy rainfall soaked the region stretching from just west of Wuhan towards Qingdao. Flooding has remained isolated, and generally away from areas impacted by the last round of heavy rain, although there is some overlap in the area north of the Yangtze. Light rains are expected to continue into next week from the Yangtze river southward. Providing an opportunity for clean up.

In southeast Asia, moisture has continued to flow in from off the South China sea, causing flooding along the northern Vietnam coast, and areas westward into Laos. Lighter rainfall has benefited the rest of Vietnam, Laos and into northern Cambodia. Lighter, but consistent rainfall has continued across Thailand and Burma.

In India rainfall has begun tapering off across the country, as well as Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. In Pakistan all significant precipitation has pulled out. Moisture deficits have not been completely erased from Bhutan, Bangladesh and northeast India. The most significant deficits have been pushed back into Arunachal Pradesh, with more minor deficits radiating out into Assam and other Indian states as well as eastern Bangladesh, Bhutan and northern Burma. It is now highly unlikely that these deficits will be made up, but ultimately this will not cause major damage nationally to India or Burma's crop production. Bhutan and Bangladesh will have a noticeable drop in food availability.

Seasonably dry weather expected to continue across the Middle East.