Andhra Pradesh declares early kharif drought in 388 mandals across 21 districts

The Andhra Pradesh government has declared an early kharif drought in 388 mandals across 21 districts, with 283 classified as severely drought-affected and 105 as moderately drought-affected. This declaration is based on a 53.4% rainfall deficit during June-August and prevailing El Niño conditions. Over 56% of the state's 688 mandals, spanning 28 districts, have been impacted by this drought.

The decision was made following a thorough review of proposals submitted by district collectors and recommendations from the State Drought Committee, which met on September 30 to assess the situation in line with the Government of India's Manual for Drought Management, 2016. The government recorded an average rainfall of just 197.6 mm between June 1 and August 31, far below the normal of 424.3 mm.

Despite the typical deadline for kharif drought declarations being October 31, the government opted for an early announcement due to the severe rainfall situation and relevant drought indicators. The assessment process involved three stages: mandatory indicators like rainfall deviation and dry spells, impact indicators including sown-area index and various indices like Remote Sensing/Vegetation Condition Index and Reservoir Storage Index, and ground truthing using data from multiple departments and institutions such as the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Agriculture and Horticulture departments, APSAC, Irrigation Department, Ground Water Audit Department, and ANGRAU.

District-wise, the affected mandals are listed, with notable ones including Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, East Godavari, Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Guntur, Bapatla, Palnadu, Prakasam, Markapuram, Kurnool, Nandyal, Ananthapuramu, Sri Sathya Sai, YSR Kadapa, Annamayya, and Chittoor.