Water levels in dams and reservoirs continue to decline

09-Mar-2026 06:10 PM

New Delhi. Due to a severe lack of rainfall and rapidly rising temperatures, water levels in the country's dams and reservoirs are continuously declining. Since the beginning of the current year, more than 70 percent of the country has received no or negligible rainfall, and the prospects for rainfall in the near future are also very low.

According to data from the Central Water Commission, the water level in 166 major dams and reservoirs across the country has dropped to 104.333 billion cubic meters (BCM), which is 56.73 percent of their total storage capacity of 183.565 BCM. In South India, the water level has dropped even further, to below 50 percent.

Interestingly, the current water level in dams and reservoirs is 13 percent higher than last year and 27 percent higher than the ten-year average. According to the Meteorological Department, of the 719 districts in the country where weather data is collected, 91 percent of them experienced no rainfall in the first eight days of March. Rainfall was also lacking in 70 percent of districts in January and February.