El Nino Drought Threatens Food Production and Water Levels Across India

What Happened

Weak rain due to El Nino has led to a major drop in water levels and food production across several states, creating supply concerns for consumer states like Kerala. Rice, sugar, cooking oil, and pulses are facing sharp drops in production.

Water and Crop Impact

Data from the Central Water Commission on the 29th shows that 178 dams hold 122 billion cubic meters of water, which is only 66 percent of their total capacity. In states ranging from Andhra Pradesh to Kerala, the water level sits at just 24 billion cubic meters, or 43 percent of capacity, compared to 89 percent at the same time last year. Rain shortages will impact 342 districts across 14 states, and rice production alone is expected to drop by up to one crore tons. Rice prices in places like Kerala could reach 100 rupees per kilogram. States like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu have skipped a crop season, and Kerala's paddy imports from other states may plunge from 14,000 loads down to 4,000.

Mitigation and Measures

Authorities have distributed climate-smart seeds through ICAR, stocking 192 lakh quintals where 173 lakh quintals were needed, and told states to keep 1.74 lakh quintals as a backup stock. Farmers are advised to plant quick-harvest crop varieties, reduce chemical fertilizer use, and grow water-saving root crops like cassava, yam, and taro. Officials have also formed monitoring committees in every district to track dam water levels, drinking water issues, and farming threats. Meanwhile, sugar prices are heading toward 60 rupees as delayed harvests and lower cultivation hurt output, while FCI supplying broken rice for ethanol production has hit poultry feed supplies.

Context

El Nino is a natural climate pattern involving the warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, which frequently disrupts rainfall patterns across various regions of the world, including Indian monsoon seasons. Droughts caused by such weather anomalies routinely strain agricultural output, push up food inflation, and force state and national authorities to ration water resources and step up food security measures.