Post-winter rainfall has eluded most part of the country so far this year, portending acute water scarcity in the current summer. As many as 27 of the country’s 36 meteorological subdivisions have received deficient or no rainfall since March 1.
Water storage in a large number of reservoirs has dropped to precariously low levels, jeopardising prospects of hydro-electric power production and creating a water shortage for irrigation and drinking. Nearly 20 of the country’s 81 major water reservoirs have reported practically no utilisable live storage.
According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), the total water stock in these 81 reservoirs had plummeted by April 23, 2009 to 30.62 billion cubic metres (BCM), which is only about 20 per cent of their combined live water storage capacity of 151.76 BCM. This is about 10 per cent below the last year’s water storage on this date.
The data compiled by the IMD shows that the total rainfall in the whole country between March 1 and April 23 was only 35 mm, about 41 per cent below the long period average (normal) of 59 mm for this period.
With only nine meteorological subdivisions receiving good rainfall, leaving 27 subdivisions water-starved, the overall rainfall pattern in March and April this year is worse than that in the drought year of 2004. That year, 11 subdivisions received above-normal rainfall and 25 subdivisions remained rain deficient till the last week of April (see table). The IMD has, however, projected the monsoon to be near-normal this year. If that holds true, rainfall between June and September can be expected to be normal.
The states that have been severely hit by rain shortage so far include Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Rainfall scarcity is also acute in parts of Gujarat, east Rajasthan, east Uttar Pradesh, the madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra, north-interior Karnataka and Telengana and coastal Andhra Pradesh.
Rainfall deficiency in different parts of Madhya Pradesh varies from 75 to 87 per cent and in Orissa and Chhattisgarh from 88 to 96 per cent. Bihar has received 81 per cent below normal rainfall so far. Overall, the rainfall in about two-thirds of the districts all over the country has either been deficient (20 to 60 per cent below normal) or scanty (above 60 per cent paucity). About 100 districts have received no rainfall at all in the post-winter season. Another 144 received only scanty rainfall.
Nearly 95 other districts fall in the deficient rainfall category with rainfall shortage of between 20 and 60 per cent compared to normal rainfall for this period.
In percentage terms, only 14 per cent of the districts fall in the normal or above normal rainfall categories, 21 per cent in deficient category and 55 per cent in scanty or no rainfall categories.
