India’s reservoir storage at 70% as monsoon ends, south faces sharper water crunch
With the southwest monsoon set to withdraw by September 30, water storage in 178 key reservoirs across India stands at around 70% of their total live capacity, below both the 10-year average and last year’s level, according to the latest Central Water Commission (CWC) data.
The CWC’s September 24 report shows the reservoirs holding 130.75 billion cubic metres of water, around 71% of their live storage capacity. The stock was more than 21% lower than the corresponding period last year and over 11% below the 10-year average.
The sharpest decline has been recorded in southern India, where 43 reservoirs across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have only about 50% of their live capacity, compared with 87.25% at the same time last year. The region has also received 23% below-normal rainfall this monsoon.
The situation comes amid drought declarations in parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka, highlighting the uneven distribution of rainfall despite heavy showers in some parts of the country.
In northern India, 11 reservoirs across Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan have fallen to around 62% of capacity, compared with 92.3% last year.
The eastern region, comprising 31 reservoirs across Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Tripura and West Bengal, has 16.157 billion cubic metres of water, or 73% of its total capacity. Several parts of the east and northeast have recorded a seasonal rainfall deficit of around 25%, although Odisha and parts of West Bengal have fared better.
The 58 reservoirs across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa collectively hold 32.664 billion cubic metres, or 84.61% of capacity, down from 95.79% last year. Another 28 reservoirs across Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are at 85.55%, compared with 91.89% in 2025.
The decline in reservoir levels comes after a deficient monsoon. India had received rainfall 12% below normal as of September 28, with June recording a 35.4% deficit and August 16.3% below normal. July was around 1% above normal, while rainfall between September 1 and 28 was 5% below normal.
The southwest monsoon supplies more than 70% of India’s annual rainfall and is crucial for replenishing reservoirs used for drinking water, irrigation and hydropower generation.
The weak rainfall season has also coincided with the emergence of El Niño conditions in the Pacific. The IMD had forecast below-normal monsoon rainfall for 2026, with seasonal rainfall expected at 92% of the long-period average. The weather agency has noted that El Niño can weaken the Indian monsoon, particularly during the latter part of the season.
With the monsoon nearing its end, there is limited scope for a significant improvement in reservoir storage this season, raising concerns for water availability in regions that have already experienced prolonged rainfall deficits.