Rabi crops at risk as muted monsoon cuts water level

Water levels in major reservoirs now 13% below 10-year average

India’s winter (Rabi) crops may be at risk this year as insufficient showers in some key regions reduced dam levels. The country's 91 main reservoirs held 103.43 billion cubic meters of water as of September 28, down 13 per cent from the 10-year average, according to the Central Water Commission. The total volume was 66 per cent of the combined storage capacity, compared with 74 per cent a year ago, it said.

The June-September monsoon season is critical to India’s agriculture sector as it directly waters more than half of all farm land and helps fill dams that irrigate crops during