Archive · 29 Jan 2026
India's Reservoir Storage Drops Below 70%
India has 166 big water storage places called reservoirs.
Right now, they have less than 70% of the water they can hold.
This is because it hasn't rained as much as usual this year.
Even though there's less water now, it's still more than last year and more than the average over the last 10 years.
Some places in the west have a lot of water, but other places like the north and central regions have less.
Four reservoirs are completely full, and 51 have more than 80% of their water.
The south also has less water than it usually does.
Storage in India's 166 major reservoirs dropped to 68.83% of capacity, with 126.354 BCM stored.
The country experienced a 23% rainfall deficit since the beginning of 2026.
Current storage is 7.5 percentage points higher than last year and 24 points above the 10-year average.
Four reservoirs are full, and 51 have storage levels above 80% of capacity.
Regional variations exist, with the western zone above 80% capacity, while the northern, eastern, central, and southern regions have lower storage levels.
- Who
- Central Water Commission (CWC)
- What
- Storage in India's 166 major reservoirs dropped below 70% of capacity
- When
- As of January 29, 2026
- Where
- Across India, with regional variations
- Why
- Due to 23% deficient rainfall since the beginning of the year
- Total Reservoirs
- 166 major reservoirs
- Current Storage
- 68.83% of capacity
- Total Capacity
- 183.565 billion cubic meters (BCM)
- Current Storage Volume
- 126.354 BCM
- Rainfall Deficit
- 23% deficient since January 2026
- Year-over-Year Comparison
- 7.5 percentage points higher than 2025
- Normal Storage Comparison
- 24 percentage points more than the 10-year average