- Finance Ministry warns of severe water shortages due to El Niño and delayed monsoon rains
- June recorded as the third driest in a century with a 42% rainfall deficit nationwide
- Monsoon expected to deliver only 90% of average rainfall, with high chances of below-normal rain
Finance Ministry of India has raised an alarm regarding the availibility of water in the coming years, as the country grapples with adverse climate phenomenons like El Niño and delayed southwest monsoons.
The nation is set close the month as the third driest June in a century, with the all-India rainfall deficit standing at 42%, thanks to heatwave like conditions and postponed rains triggered by El Niño.
The FinMin in its monthly economic review emphasised on the need to build water buffers in the coming years to tackle severe water shortages and droughts.
"India needs to build water buffers in coming years," the review stated, adding that outlook for growth will be shaped by El Niño and geopolitical risks.
The Ministry also said that the focus has now shifted to concerns related to delayed southwest monsoon, including its impact on Kharif sowing.
According to the India Meteorological Department's updated 2026 seasonal outlook, the monsoon is expected to deliver around 90% of the long-period average, placing the season in the below-normal category, with a 60% chance of a deficient season and an 84% chance of below-normal or deficient rainfall overall.
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El Niño Impact
The average rainfall recorded across the country in June so far stands at 92.2mm, against a normal of 157.7mm. Even with a good spell of rain expected on the month's last day, June is likely to close at around 100mm overall.
The shortfall, which has left farmers, water managers and city administrators on edge, is being driven primarily by a towering El Niño that has disrupted the monsoon's progress nationwide.
El Niño is a periodic warming of surface waters in the east and central Pacific Ocean, accompanied by shifts in wind patterns that affect weather systems globally, including India's summer monsoon.
According to an analysis by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, a broad belt of elevated drought risk across Asia — from Pakistan and India through Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and further east, has been identified.
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Risk To Rain-Fed Kharif Crops
FAO has warned that sowing of water-fed crops like maize and rice may be severely effected South and Southeast Asia, and may be hit even harder compared to climate events of 2015-16 and 2023-24.
Photo by Vijay Sartape
In light of this, the Central Government has intensified its preparedness for the Kharif season, pushing for Water Conservation through ponds, check dams and farm reservoirs. Around 200 districts in India have been flagged as being high risk zones for El Niño.
The periodic warming was last strongest in 2015 and dragged down maize and rice output, with prices for key food commodity crops spiking across Asia.
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