The South and Southeast Asia MPZ includes India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. This monitoring period covers the harvesting period of winter crops (wheat) and the sowing and growing period of spring crops (rice, maize, and soybeans) in the region.

According to the agroclimatic indicators, the temperature and RADPAR were slightly above the 15YA (ΔTEMP +0.9℃, ΔRADPAR +1%), while the accumulated precipitation was significantly below the 15YA (ΔRAIN -51%), resulting in an estimated biomass decrease (ΔBIOMSS -12%). Irrigation infrastructures in areas including the Mekong Delta of Vietnam and the Central Plains of Thailand are comparatively advanced, providing a measure of alleviation against the effects of drought conditions. Compared with the 5YA, the CALF increased by 2% to 82%. The VCIx for the MPZ reached 0.83, indicating that the crops were generally growing well. The CPI in the MPZ was 0.93, below the 5YA. If the dry and hot weather persists, the production of summer crops is forecasted to decrease.

According to the spatial distribution of rainfall profiles, the precipitation for 76.5% of the MPZ (India, Nepal, western Bangladesh, Myanmar, western Thailand, and northern Vietnam) was close to the 15YA during the entire monitoring period. The precipitation in 22.2% of the MPZ (eastern and southern India, eastern Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and southern Vietnam) had been significantly below the 15YA since early April, leading to drought conditions. Additionally, in 1.4% of the MPZ, mainly in northern India, precipitation levels fluctuated around the average and were significantly above average in early March.

Throughout the entire monitoring period, the spatial distribution of temperature profiles shows that the average temperature in 38.8% of the MPZ (southern India, southern Myanmar, southern Thailand, and southern Vietnam) was slightly above the 15YA. Moreover, the average temperature in 1.6% of the MPZ (mainly in northern India, northern Nepal, and western Thailand) was significantly above the 15YA. In 38.6% of the MPZ (northern India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar), the average temperature fluctuated around the 15YA. The average temperature in 21% of the MPZ (Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam) was above the average throughout the monitoring period, except for late January when it was close to the average. It was significantly higher than the average after early April.

The BIOMASS departure map reveals that the potential biomass in northern and eastern India, Bangladesh, northern Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam is 20% lower than the 15YA for the same period. The Maximum VCI shows that the index was below 0.5 in southern India, Thailand, and several dispersed areas. The VHI Minimum map shows that, apart from western India, Bangladesh, eastern Thailand, northern Vietnam, and some scattered regions, most of the MPZ was temporarily impacted by drought. The CALF map demonstrates that most of the arable land in the MPZ was planted, whereas the uncultivated arable land was scattered mainly in southern and western India.

In summary, the crop conditions in southeast Asia have been affected by high temperatures and drought, and are expected to be below average.

Figure 2.4 South and Southeast Asia MPZ: Agroclimatic and agronomic indicators, January to April 2024.

a.Spatial distribution of rainfall profiles  b.Profiles of rainfall departure from average (mm)

c.Spatial distribution of temperature profiles  d.Profiles of temperature departure from average (℃)

e.Cropped and uncropped arable land

f.Potential biomass departure from 5YA

g.Maximum VCI

h.VHI Minimum

i.CPI

Table 2.1 Agroclimatic indicators by Major Production Zone, current value and departure from 15YA(2024-2)

Table 2.2 Agronomic indicators by Major Production Zone, current season values and departure from 5YA(2024-2)