The Central Water Commission has reported an improvement in India's reservoir storage levels, with the total live storage in 155 monitored reservoirs reaching 98.974 billion cubic metres.
This represents 55% of their total live storage capacity, marking a 120% increase compared to the same period last year and 116% of the average storage over the past 10 years, according to the weekly bulletin released by the CWC.
In the northern region that comprises Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan, the reservoirs are holding 30% of their total capacity, lower than last year's 40%, indicating a deficit.
While in the eastern region (Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Tripura, Nagaland, Bihar), the storage level stood at 54%, slightly below last year's 55% and the normal 57%.
In the western region (Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa), the storage has surged to 67% of the capacity, significantly higher than last year's 56% and the normal 51%.
The reservoirs in the central region (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh) have a 57% capacity, improving from 53% last year and surpassing the normal level of 50%.
While in the southern region (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu), a storage level of 53% was recorded, outperforming last year's 30% and the normal 41%.
About 100 reservoirs reported higher storage than the last year, while 112 exceeded normal levels. There are 20 reservoirs that have less than 80% of their normal storage, with eight at critically low levels below 50%.
The rainfall deficiency has affected several IMD sub-divisions, particularly in Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Odisha, leading to reduced storage in affected reservoirs, the bulletin said.
Better-than-normal storage was recorded in major basins such as the Ganga, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, and Cauvery, while the Indus and Brahmani and Baitarni basins showed a storage deficit.
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