A view of the Cheruthoni dam in Idukki reservoir, Kerala.
| Photo Credit:
H.VIBHU
The storage in India’s 166 major reservoirs dropped to 75.6 per cent of the capacity this week, with the level in the southern region dropping below last year.
According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), the level in the major reservoirs was 138.832 billion cubic metres (BCM) of the 183.565 BCM capacity. It was 6 percentage points higher than last year and 22.6 percentage points more than normal (last 10 years.)
The southern region depends on the North-East monsoon starting October. In 2025, the monsoon was not widespread in December, resulting in southern reservoir levels declining.
According to the India Meteorological Department, 80 per cent of the 723 districts received no rainfall since the beginning of this year. Another 12 per cent received deficient rainfall.
Andhra, an exception
In the southern region, barring Andhra Pradesh, the level in the rest of the States was lower than a year ago. The storage in the 47 reservoirs was 70.6 per cent of the 55.287 BCM capacity at 39.057 BCM. Last year, it was 40.392 BCM or 73 per cent of the capacity.
Dams in AP were filled to 84 per cent, while those in Tamil Nadu were filled to 76 per cent. The storage in Kerala was 70 per cent, while it was 64 per cent and 67 per cent in Karnataka and Telangana, respectively.
In the eastern region, the level was lower in Assam, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Tripura and West Bengal. The 27 reservoirs in the region were filled to 73 per cent or 15.828 BCM of the 21.759 BCM capacity. Assam’s two reservoirs have the lowest level at 36.28 per cent of the capacity. Meghalaya’s lone reservoir was full, while Tripura’s only dam was filled to 76 per cent and the level in the 11 reservoirs in Odisha was 78 per cent.
The level in the 28 reservoirs of the Central region was 77.7 per cent of the 48.588 BCM capacity at 37.739 BCM. Dams in Madhya Pradesh were at 80 per cent of their capacity, while the storage in Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand was 85 per cent, 70 per cent and 73 per cent, respectively.
6 dams full
The 53 reservoirs of the western region continued to have the highest storage, with the level being 85 per cent this week. Goa’s lone reservoir was filled to 95 per cent, while the level in Maharashtra and Gujarat was 87 per cent and 83 per cent, respectively.
In the 11 reservoirs of the northern zone, the level this week was 69 per cent of the 19.836 BCM capacity at 13.745 BCM. The level in Rajasthan was 86 per cent, while in Punjab, it was 70 per cent. In Himachal, the storage was 63 per cent.
Currently, 6 reservoirs are full, while the level in 37 is above 90 per cent. The storage may drop further in the coming weeks as the IMD has projected below-normal rainfall until May.
Published on January 8, 2026
