After large rainfall deficit in August, how India’s reservoir levels are falling considerably

Subject: Geography

Section: Physical Geography

Context:

The cumulative amount of water in the 150 large and important reservoirs fell below the normal level in August — the first time this has happened since the beginning of the current southwest monsoon season.

Details:

The latest data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) show that these 150 reservoirs across the country had about 113 billion cubic metres (BCM) of water, which was about 10% below the normal– or average of the last 10 years- storage at this time of the year.
Biggest deficit is in the reservoirs of southern states, reduced to 49% of their original capacity.
August is generally the rainiest month after July. Reservoir level should go up during August month.
August 2023 was the driest August in the more than 120 years.
- August produced only about 162 mm of rain in the country as a whole, instead of the almost 255 mm that is expected, a deficiency of 36%.

Consequences of rainfall deficit:

Unexpected increase in power demand mainly for irrigation activities.
The share of coal in India’s total power generation increased to 66.7% in August, the highest for the month in six years.

Significance of these reservoirs:

Since the bulk of India’s annual rainfall- nearly 75%– comes during the four-month southwest monsoon season, these reservoirs are a crucial source of water supply for the rest of the year, catering not just to households and industrial uses, but also for power generation.

Regional analysis:

Central India had a rainfall deficiency of 47%.
South India had a 60% deficit.
The East and Northeastern region was the only one that received normal rainfall and the only region where water levels in the reservoirs did not show a declining trend in August.

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