Agroclimatic and agricultural indicators during April to Julyindicate slight increases of RAIN (+8%), TEMP (1.2°C), and RADPAR (4%),compared with the thirteen-year average (figure 2.4). Rainfall in all countrieswas comparable to the average, except a period of low RAIN in April followed byhigh values in May in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. Droughts,possibly associated with El Niño (see section 5.3), occurred in April to June,especially in the dry zone of Myanmar and the north and central areas ofThailand, as well as in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. Thebiomass accumulation potential shows favorable conditions along the MekongRiver, the Red River delta of Vietnam, and in Punjab province in India, whichare all major rice plantation areas.

The VCIx map indicates good crop condition (+0.73),particularly in Sisaket, Surin, Burirum, Roiet, and Yasothon provinces of Thailand. In contrast, VCIx values are low in MadhyaPradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh in India, and in the dry zoneof Myanmar. The increase over the recent five-year average of the fraction ofcropped arable land in the MPZ is the world’s highest increase (+5.5%). Theuncropped areas are located mostly in Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka, Gujarat, and Haryana in India, as well as in the dry zone ofMyanmar, related to low VCIx and VHIn values.

Figure 2.4. South and SoutheastAsia MPZ: Agroclimatic and agronomic indicators, April-July 2014