South Asia is one of the world’s major water scarce regions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC AR5) identifies drought as a major climate risk in South Asia. Drought can directly affect food availability through impacts on agricultural production. Changes in water quality and quantity also affect access to and utilization of food. Access to good quality drought monitoring and early warning information is critical to in-season crop management and the production of timely agro advisory services.
