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The Pune region is staring at a possible water crisis as the 'live' storage in reservoirs stood at 14.30 per cent of total capacity on Thursday, significantly less than the 31.16 per cent recorded on the same date last year, according to official data. With the onset of the monsoon delayed, water availability is low compared to the last year in several parts of the state, the Maharashtra Water Resources Department's daily update on water availability showed. Across all 3,028 dams, weirs, and reservoirs in the state, the total 'live' or usable storage stood at 24.03 per cent on Thursday, compared to the 32.38 per cent recorded on June 18, 2025. Every dam has some water stock, considered as dead stock, which is generally not used for any purpose. The water accumulated above the dead stock is considered as live storage. A senior official of the Water Resources Department, however, said the storage figures could be slightly misleading as in 2025, the south-west monsoon had arrived in .
The monsoon has missed its expected onset date of May 26 in Kerala but has further advanced into some more parts of the southwest and southeast Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep area and Bay of Bengal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday. The IMD had earlier estimated that the monsoon would arrive in Kerala on May 26 with a model error of 4 days. The monsoon usually sets over Kerala around June 1, marking the beginning of the monsoon season (June to September) in the country. Last year, the onset of monsoon happened on May 24, according to the department. In a statement, the IMD said, "Conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of southwest and southeast Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep area, southwest, eastcentral and westcentral Bay of Bengal, remaining parts of southeast Bay of Bengal and some parts of northeast Bay of Bengal during the next 2-3 days." India receives more than 70 pc of its annual rainfall during the .