India’s 40% rainfall shortfall hits reservoir water levels

New Delhi: India’s 40% deficit in cumulative monsoon rainfall has taken a toll on live water storage in the country’s 166 major reservoirs, which has dipped to nearly 27.5% of their total storage capacity.Though overall storage of the 166 reservoirs at the current level is still better than normal (the average storage of the last 10 years) during the corresponding period, the fall linked to depressed rainfall due to El Nino may be a reason for worry as functional efficiency of these reservoirs is important for irrigation, domestic use and industrial requirement, including hydro-electric power generation. The tardy progress of monsoon may lead to further decline, posing a risk to farming operations and other usage.

Twenty out of these 166 major reservoirs are of hydro-electric projects such as Gobind Sagar in Himachal Pradesh, Thein Dam in Punjab, Rana Pratap Sagar in Rajasthan, and Hirakud in Odisha, Panchet Hill in Jharkhand, Ukai and Sardar Sarovar in Gujarat, and Pench in Maharashtra, among others.Central Water Commission data on live storage of the 166 reservoirs shows that water storage in 11 reservoirs of the northern region and 28 reservoirs of the central region is better than the corresponding period last year, but the status of reservoirs in the eastern (27), southern (47) and western (53) regions is quite worrisome.The total live storage capacity of 166 reservoirs is around 183.6 billion cubic metres (BCM) which is more than 71% of the live storage capacity of 257.8 BCM which is estimated to have been created in the country.State-wise data shows that reservoirs in Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have better storage (in %) than last year for the corresponding period. On the other hand, reservoirs in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura and West Bengal have less storage (in %) than last year.In 2025, the monsoon arrived over Kerala eight days in advance and progressed well thereafter, making water available to reservoirs in June, unlike this year when the monsoon onset happened three days late and its progress continues to be weak.