Andhra Pradesh has recorded 59% less rain than normal this year, every one of its 28 districts is in deficit and the water table has sunk more than three metres in a year, State government data show. Heat has gripped much of the State, with day temperatures touching 42.2°C on Monday (September 7, 2026). Relief may come this weekend: the India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects a low-pressure system to form over the Bay of Bengal around September 11 and bring rain from September 12 to 15.

From January 1 to September 9, the State received 236.51 mm of rain against a normal of 578.58 mm, a shortfall of 59.12%, according to the Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Information and Management System (APWRIMS) dashboard. That places the State in the ‘deficient’ band, within a point of ‘scanty’, which begins at a 60% shortfall.

The southwest monsoon, which normally brings the bulk of the year’s rain, has fallen short in every month. From June 1 to September 9, the State received 209.45 mm against a normal of 462.51 mm, 54.71% below normal. July brought 51.69 mm against a normal of 161.07 mm, 68% short; August 73.16 mm against 165.78 mm, 56% short; and the first nine days of this month 9.11 mm against 35.43 mm, 74% short.

Seven districts ‘scanty’

Seven districts have slipped into the ‘scanty’ band for the year. Annamayya is the driest, at 79.75 mm against a normal of 388.32 mm, a shortfall of 79.46%. Prakasam is 72.88% short, Visakhapatnam 68.43%, Chittoor 67.56%, West Godavari 61.10%, East Godavari 60.93% and Kakinada 60.15%. None of the 28 is in the normal or excess band. By region, Rayalaseema is 59.08% short and Coastal Andhra 55.91%. Counted from June 1 alone, six districts are scanty: Annamayya, Prakasam, Chittoor, Sri Sathya Sai, Visakhapatnam and Markapuram.

Water table

The State’s average groundwater level stood at 11.37 metres below ground on Wednesday (September 9, 2026), against 8.28 metres on the same date last year, a fall of 3.09 metres, state government data shows. The table has dropped 1.27 metres since May, through the monsoon months, and 5.36 metres since November. In Rayalaseema the average is 14.41 metres below ground, 4.82 metres deeper than a year ago; in Coastal Andhra it is 10.15 metres, 2.40 metres deeper. Of the 26 districts in the state, West Godavari is the lone exception: its table is 7.74 metres below ground, two centimetres higher than last year.

Sri Sathya Sai’s average has dropped to 21.19 metres below ground from 11.05 metres a year ago, a fall of 10.14 metres; Annamayya’s to 18.22 metres from 11.15 metres, a fall of 7.07 metres; and Ananthapuramu’s to 15.98 metres from 10.52 metres, a fall of 5.46 metres. Eluru has the deepest table in the State at 23.87 metres, 4.98 metres lower than last year, followed by East Godavari at 22.94 metres and Markapuram at 21.63 metres.

Heat and the forecast

The mercury touched 42.2°C at Throvagunta in Ongole and at Venkatagiri in Tirupati district on Monday (September 7), according to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES). Pottempadu in Nellore district recorded 41.8°C, and Karamchedu in Bapatla 41.7°C. In all, 94 stations in the State recorded 40°C or more on Monday. On Tuesday too, temperatures hovered around 40°C; at 5 p.m., Palagiri in YSR Kadapa district, and Chintavaram and Kandaleru in Nellore district recorded 37.7°C.

Both maximum and minimum temperatures have stayed above normal for two days, the IMD said. S. Karunasagar, senior scientist at IMD-Amaravati, said temperatures were rising because of the lack of rainfall under the El Niño effect and unfavourable conditions for convection. “This means no clouds, no moisture and hence, dry weather,” he said.

An upper-air cyclonic circulation lies over the west-central Bay of Bengal and adjoining coastal Andhra Pradesh at 7.6 km above mean sea level, the IMD said, and may intensify into a low-pressure area near north coastal Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha around September 11. Hot and humid weather may persist in coastal Andhra Pradesh till then, after which light to moderate showers are expected across the State, with isolated heavy rainfall in north coastal Andhra Pradesh from September 12 to 15.