Rayalaseema reels under acute water scarcity as monsoon deficit deepens

A severe water crisis has enveloped the Rayalaseema region as the southwest monsoon has failed to deliver adequate rainfall, with a strengthening El Nino threatening to prolong the dry spell. Official data up to the first week of September reveals a significant rainfall deficit across all seven districts, raising concerns of a long-term agrarian crisis.

Annamayya district is the worst affected, recording a rainfall deficit of 78.3% below normal. It is followed by Sri Sathya Sai (61.9%), YSR Kadapa (58.2%), Nandyal (55.3%), Anantapur (46.9%), Kurnool (46.7%), and Tirupati (40.1%). The average rainfall across Andhra Pradesh is 55.2% below normal, with no district in the state reporting a surplus.

Agriculture department officials attribute the unusual weather pattern to the timing of El Nino. Conditions that were weak in June have strengthened to a moderate-to-strong phase by August-September. This period typically brings 60% of the region's kharif rainfall. The current conditions are suppressing low-pressure activity in the Bay of Bengal, leading to fewer rainy days, higher humidity, and daytime temperatures 3-4 degrees above normal in parts of Kurnool, Kadapa, and Tirupati.

The irrigation infrastructure is under strain. The KC canal, which supports nearly 3 lakh acres directly and another 2 lakh acres indirectly in Kurnool, Nandyal, and Kadapa, is running below its design entitlement of 31.90 tmcft at tail-end areas. With weak inflows into the Tungabhadra and Srisailam reservoirs, officials say they are prioritising drinking water over irrigation.

Groundnut, the region's predominant crop spread over 8 lakh hectares, is in a critical phase in Anantapur, Chittoor, and Sri Sathya Sai districts, where soil moisture has fallen drastically. Cotton farmers in Kurnool and Nandyal are facing uncertainty due to fluctuations in flowering, as the crop is highly sensitive to dry spells. Delayed sowing of maize and red gram is another concern.

Groundwater levels have also dropped alarmingly year-on-year. The water table in Sri Sathya Sai district is now at 21.19 metres, 10.14 metres deeper than in September 2025. Annamayya and Anantapur have seen similar declines, with tables at 18.22 metres and 15.98 metres respectively. In semi-arid and upland areas like Madanapalle, Piler, Rayachoti, Alur, and Adoni, the groundwater table has dipped by more than 500 feet, making borewells highly unreliable.

Scientists from Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) have visited several villages to educate farmers on alternative crops suited to El Nino conditions. However, adopting new crop patterns under such stressful conditions remains difficult. Kothur Babu, chairman of the Chittoor district Mango Producers Association, noted that almost all village tanks in the district are on the verge of drying up. "For the first time in two decades, I stayed away from groundnut cultivation," he said.