Three of the every four major reservoirs were half-empty this week in India, even as the overall storage dipped to 36 per cent of the capacity, data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) showed.

According to the CWC’s weekly status of storage in the major reservoirs, storage in the 166 dams was 66.830 billion cubic metres (BCM) of the  183.565 BCM capacity. The level was, however, 14 percentage points higher than a year ago and 25 per cent more than normal (past 10 years).

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), 28 per cent of the 725 districts in the country received deficient or no rainfall between March 1 and May 7. This is in addition to over 70 per cent of the country receiving deficient rainfall during January-February.

The level in at least 92 reservoirs or a little over 55 per cent was less than 40 per cent of the capacity. Storage in all five regions dropped below 45 per cent of capacity this week, with storage being the lowest in the southern region. In the peninsular region’s 47 reservoirs, the level was 27 per cent of the 55.288 BCM capacity at 14.833 BCM. In Telangana, storage was 20 per cent and in Karnataka, it was 22 per cent. In Kerala, the level was 25 per cent, while in Andhra and Tamil Nadu, it was 38 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively.

West Bengal precarious

The level in the 27 reservoirs of the eastern region was 33.5 per cent of 7.307 BCM of the 7.307 BCM capacity. In West Bengal, the situation was precarious with storage at 12 per cent. In Jharkhand, the level was 50 per cent and in Odisha, 32 per cent. The lone reservoirs in Meghalaya and Tripura were filled to 68 per cent and 61 per cent, respectively.

Storage in the northern region’s 11 reservoir was 42 per cent of the 19.836 BCM capacity at 8.353 BCM. The level was double than a year ago. Storage in Punjab was 66 per cent, while in Himachal and Rajasthan, it was 35 per cent and 47 per cent, respectively.

The 53 reservoirs in the western region were filled to 35 per cent of the 38.094 BCM capacity at 16.138 BCM. The level in Gujarat was 50 per cent, in Maharashtra and Goa, it was 35 per cent each.

The level in the 28 reservoirs of the central region was 41.5 per cent of 20.199 BCM of the 48.588 BCM capacity. Chhattisgarh dams’ storage was 56 per cent, while that of Madhya Pradesh was 42 per cent. The level in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand was 40.5 and 26 per cent, respectively. 

The situation, particularly in the southern region, will likely improve with the IMD predicting heavy rain over the next week. 

Published on May 8, 2026