Water in a staggering 91 of India’s major reservoirs currently stands at just 15 percent of capacity, according to estimates released Friday by the Central Water Commission, with the much needed monsoon rains yet to hit most parts of India.
"The water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country for the week ending on June 16, 2016 was 23.786 BCM, which is 15 percent of total storage capacity of these reservoirs," the water agency announced on Friday.
The decline in water storage in the big reservoirs can be attributed to two consecutive drought years along with monsoon deficits of 12 and 14 percent in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the Times of India reported Friday.
With global temperatures rising, the frequency of drought is also expected to increase between 2020 and 2049, according to a recent research paper to be published in Current Science.
“The frequency and severity of droughts during 2020-49 is likely to be higher,” confirmed P V Joseph, senior meteorologist and the lead author of the research paper.
Drinking water is running low in many states and poor levels of rainfall have prompted extreme measures, including stationing armed guards at reservoirs and sending water trains to the worst-affected regions.
Meanwhile, reservoirs in southern India are the worst affected. The water availability in 31 reservoirs in the south was 4.86 BCM on June 16 — just 9 percent of capacity, the Times of India also reported.
Throughout the country, the government estimates at least 330 million people are affected by drought in India.