Storage in India’s 166 major reservoirs dropped below 35 per cent of the capacity, with the level in 60 per cent of them dropping below 40 per cent, data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) showed.
According to the CWC’s weekly reservoir status, storage in the 166 reservoirs was 34.45 per cent of the 183.565 billion cubic metres (BCM) capacity at 63.232 BCM. The level is 13 percentage points higher than a year ago and 24 percentage points more than normal (last 10 years.).
Per India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, 27 per cent of the 725 districts in the country received either deficient rainfall between March 1 and May 13. This is in addition to at least 70 per cent of the country receiving deficient or no rainfall during January-February.
Lowest in south
The storage situation in the south was the lowest among the five regions. The level in the 47 reservoirs was 25 per cent of the 55.288 BCM capacity at 14.051 BCM. Reservoirs in Telangana are filled less than 20 per cent, while they were a tad more than that in Karnataka. The level in Kerala was 24 per cent, in Andhra, it was 37 per cent and in Tamil Nadu, 34.5 per cent.
The level in the 27 reservoirs of the eastern region was 33.5 per cent of the 7.307 BCM capacity at 6.567 BCM. In West Bengal, storage increased a tad to 12.5 per cent, while it was 22 per cent in Assam. In Odisha, the level dipped to 28 per cent, while it was 48 per cent in Jharkhand. Among other States, the lone reservoirs in Meghalaya and Tripura were filled above 60 per cent.
The 11 reservoirs in the northern region were filled to 41 per cent of the 19.836 BCM capacity at 8.206 BCM. The level in Punjab’s lone reservoir was 67 per cent, while in Himachal and Rajasthan, it was 35 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively.
In the central region, storage in the 28 reservoirs was 39 per cent or 19.072 BCM of the 48.588 BCM capacity. Chhattisgarh’s 6 dams were filled to 55 per cent, while the level in Madhya Pradesh’s 11 dams was 40 per cent. The water level in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand was 37 and 24 per cent, respectively.
Low pressure over Bay
Storage in the 53 reservoirs of the western region was 40 per cent of the 38.094 BCM at 15.336 BCM. The lone reservoir in Goa was two-thirds empty, while the level in Gujarat and Maharashtra was 38 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively.
Storage will likely begin to improve over the next couple of weeks with a well-market low pressure area developing over the south-west and west-central Bay of Bengal. However, a fresh spell of heatwave is likely over the northern parts of the country.
Published on May 14, 2026