El Nino Impact: 365 mandals in Telangana declared drought-hit

Hyderabad: In a significant development, the Telangana government has declared 365 mandals across 31 districts as drought-affected for the Kharif 2026 season, citing rainfall deficits, prolonged dry spells and deteriorating soil moisture conditions during the south-west monsoon.

According to G.O. Ms. No. 03 issued by the Revenue (Disaster Management-II) Department on October 24, 2026, the affected mandals include 111 classified as facing severe drought and 254 categorised under moderate drought.

The notification will remain valid for six months from the date of publication unless withdrawn earlier. Mandals not included in the list will continue to be monitored by the State Drought Monitoring Cell and may be added through a supplementary notification if necessary.

The government order stated that Telangana received 615.5 mm of rainfall against the normal 740.6 mm during June 1 to September 30, 2026, representing a deficit of 17 per cent. Eighteen of the state’s 33 districts recorded deficient rainfall.

The Kharif crop sown area declined from 139.28 lakh acres to 126.06 lakh acres. Paddy cultivation fell by 18 per cent, from 69.19 lakh acres to 57 lakh acres.

The live storage in major and medium reservoirs stood at 179.63 TMC against their combined capacity of 585 TMC, raising concerns over drinking water, agriculture, livestock and power supply.

The government attributed the adverse monsoon conditions to strengthening El Niño conditions, weak Bay of Bengal low-pressure systems and prolonged dry spells.

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Venkateshwarlu Kolishetty

Venkateshwarlu Kolishetty