In 2025, India is standing at the brink of a slow-moving catastrophe — a deepening water crisis intricately tied to the global climate emergency. This summer, cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai made international headlines for alarming water shortages, while vast stretches of rural India struggled with dying crops and parched lands. “This is not just a drought year — this is a collapse of the water economy,” said Dr. Mihir Shah, a leading water policy expert, in an interview with The Hindu. As temperatures soar and rainfall patterns grow erratic, India's fragile relationship with water — once nurtured over millennia — is unraveling at a dangerous pace.
The data is chilling. A report by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) reveals that over 60% of India’s districts have either critical or over-exploited groundwater levels. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded a 14% shortfall in the 2024 monsoon season, leading to the lowest reservoir levels in a decade. In Maharashtra’s Marathwada region, once India's sugar bowl, farmers now battle cracked earth and empty wells. Ramesh Pawar, a farmer from Beed district, told NDTV, "We have no option left — the borewells have dried, and the rains have betrayed us. How do we survive?" His words capture the silent despair spreading across India's heartland.
Urban India is not faring much better. In a special report by The Indian Express, residents of Bengaluru described waking up at 3 a.m. to collect water from tankers. “Water mafias are making fortunes, while we fight for a few buckets,” said Sandhya Menon, a software professional living in Whitefield. The city, once celebrated as India’s tech capital, now faces the grim reality of a "Day Zero" scenario — the complete depletion of usable water resources. Experts like Himanshu Thakkar from the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) argue that reckless urban planning, encroachment on wetlands, and unregulated construction have turned India’s cities into water-stressed nightmares.At the core of the crisis lies climate change, intensifying India's water vulnerabilities. Erratic monsoons, rising temperatures, and the rapid melting of Himalayan glaciers — all amplified by global warming — are disrupting ancient water systems. “We are seeing a permanent shift, not a temporary anomaly," warned climate scientist Dr. Roxy Mathew Koll during a discussion with Mongabay India. In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had already flagged India as one of the most water-risk-prone countries globally — a prediction that seems hauntingly prescient now.Government responses have been a mix of urgency and denial. In March 2025, the Union Government launched the "Mission Amrit Dhara", an ambitious ₹15,000 crore program aimed at restoring local water bodies and building decentralized rainwater harvesting systems. However, ground reports from Scroll.in suggest that implementation has been patchy and riddled with bureaucratic delays. "We filled out forms, but the promised tanks and check dams never arrived," said Maya Devi, a villager in Rajasthan’s Bundi district. Critics argue that without serious investment in community-led watershed management, piecemeal schemes will remain cosmetic.
Civil society, however, has stepped into the breach. Organizations like Tarun Bharat Sangh, led by Rajendra Singh (the "Waterman of India"), are reviving traditional water conservation systems — johads, baoris, and tankas — across Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Speaking to The Wire, Singh said, “The answer to water scarcity lies not under the ground, but in community wisdom above it.” Across India, grassroots efforts are showcasing how ancient techniques, combined with modern science, could offer sustainable solutions.
Young climate activists are also raising their voices. Groups like Fridays For Future India have organized multiple marches demanding urgent climate action, often linking the water crisis with broader environmental degradation. "It's not just about saving water; it's about saving our future," said Ananya Mishra, a 19-year-old climate striker from Delhi, during a protest covered by BBC News. Their activism has forced mainstream media and policymakers to finally acknowledge that India’s water crisis cannot be addressed in isolation from the climate emergency.
The media narrative around the water crisis has evolved significantly. Earlier dominated by episodic disaster coverage — droughts, floods, water shortages — today's journalism increasingly connects the dots between policy, environment, and community resilience. Investigations by The Caravan and Down To Earth have exposed how illegal sand mining, river pollution, and corporate exploitation of groundwater are exacerbating the crisis. “This is not a natural disaster; this is a man-made one," concluded a Down To Earth editorial in April 2025.Yet, despite rising awareness, deep structural changes remain elusive. Water remains a state subject under India’s Constitution, leading to inter-state river disputes like the Cauvery and Yamuna battles, often politicized rather than resolved scientifically. Prof. Aseem Shrivastava, environmental economist, argues, “As long as water is seen as a political weapon and not a common good, we are racing towards mass water distress."
The time for incremental fixes is over. Experts are calling for a national water policy overhaul, prioritizing river rejuvenation, groundwater recharge, water budgeting, and climate-adaptive infrastructure. Without such bold, systemic changes, millions could soon face climate-induced water migration, sparking new humanitarian crises. The 2025 UN World Water Development Report even warned that “India's internal displacement due to water scarcity could be the largest globally by 2030.”
At its heart, the water crisis is a mirror — reflecting how we treat nature, each other, and our future generations. As monsoons falter, rivers shrink, and aquifers die, India's battle for water is no longer about scarcity alone. It is about survival, justice, and the soul of the nation itself.
As Dr. Vandana Shiva, environmentalist and author, told The Quint: “To save water is to save life. In ignoring this truth, we risk losing both.”
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