NEW DELHI: Politicians hitting the campaign trail for the coming Lok Sabha will have to sweat it out, maybe even literally. The extremely hot weather is set to bring with it serious water crisis especially in Southern and Western parts of the country as the water level in major reservoirs is less than the corresponding time of 2023.
The water reservoirs act as special buffers between large rivers and urban water supply involving industrial users. Owing to the strong presence of the El Nino phenomenon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and other global weather agencies have forecast above normal temperatures this summer.
Severe water crisis would turn the heat on the campaigners and bring the water scarcity issue to centre stage. Huge deficit winter rainfall (-33%) between January and February 2024, has not only led to loss of soil moisture but also increased the farmers’ burden.
In the coming months, it is going to aggravate the potable water issue. Bengaluru happens to be one of the glaring examples of it as Karnataka faced deficit monsoon in Kaveri basins which kept reservoirs below the expectations.
As per the data provided by the Central Water Commission, the current water level is 84% of the corresponding time of 2023. Last year, there was 84.027 billion cubic meters (BCM) in 150 major water reservoirs, while this year, it was 70.746 BCM on 18 March 2024.
The current water level is 97% higher than the average of the last ten years. The average of the last 10 years of live storage is 72.857 BCM.
However, in 2023, the water level was 115% higher than the average of the last 10 years. Also, the average of last 10 year live storage was a bit higher than this year.
Water reservoirs in South and Western India have a larger deficit of live storage capacity than North, Eastern and Central regions reservoirs.
The live storage position in Southern region reservoirs are 13 BMC which was 22.2 BMC last year. Similarly, in the Western region current live storage capacity is 17.8 BMC while it was 21.1 BMC last year.
Meanwhile, as per the meteorologists, the water crisis would not last long in view of the ending of the El Nino climatic phenomenon, while the La Nina phenomenon would bring bountiful rainfall. El Niño Southern Oscillation(ENSO) or El Nino is a climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
It is synonymous with weakening of the Indian southwest monsoon. La Nina is the cyclic counterpart to El Nino, known for cool phases of a recurring climate pattern across the tropical Pacific causing good rainfall in India.
If NITI Aayog Composite Water Management Index’s predictions are coming true, India is currently facing its worst water crisis in history, with 21 cities on the brink of depleting their groundwater resources.