The first month of the monsoon in Punjab ended on a negative note with the state recording a rainfall deficiency of 26 per cent in July, even as water levels in crucial reservoirs feeding the region remain below normal.From July 1 till the morning of July 31, Punjab received 119.3 mm rain compared to the long period average (LPA) of 161.4 mm for this period, according to a bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).The monsoon had touched Punjab on July 1 after a delay of several days and advanced over most parts of the state by July 3, before covering it fully by July 9. In the first few days of the monsoon season, the rainfall had been above normal in Punjab.Over the past 24 hours, the monsoon activity over Punjab was termed as ‘weak’ by the IMD though it was said to be normal for the preceding few days. During the week, light to moderate rain with thunderstorms occurred at many places in Punjab — with a few places experiencing heavy rainfall.Barring Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Faridkot, rainfall has been below the LPA in all other districts during July, with the deficiency ranging up to 71 per cent, according to the IMD data.The wettest district during the month has been Pathankot, which received 495.5 mm rain. At 38.4 mm, Mansa received the least amount of rainfall. Muktsar, Barnala Bathinda, Fatehgarh and Fazilka are other districts trailing the list.In the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh, which is home to two dams critical for irrigation and power generation and the source of rivers and tributaries feeding three reservoirs, monsoon during July has been eight per cent above the LPA.Among the three reservoirs at Bhakra, Pong and Kol dams in Himachal Pradesh, the combined storage is 10.83 per cent below normal at present, while in Punjab the storage in the state’s sole major reservoir at Thein is 9.21 per cent below normal, according to data released by the Central Water Commission (CWC) on July 30. Among all 166 major reservoirs across the country, the combined storage is seven per cent below normal, the data revealed.At Bhakra Dam, that lies on the Sutlej, the water level was 487.150 metres against the permissible top level of 512 metres. The current water storage was 37.25 per cent of its total capacity as compared to 48.81 per cent at this time last year and the average of 47.33 over the past 10 years.The current water level at the Pong Dam on the Beas stood at 406.560 metres against the top limit of 423.670 metres, with the storage being 40.37 per cent. It was 54.02 per cent last year and an average of 39.52 per cent over the past 10 years. Kol Dam, which lies upstream of the Bhakra, has only a miniscule storage capacity.At Thein Dam on the Ravi, the water level was 509.250 metres against the maximum allowed level of 527.910 feet. The present storage is 45.82 per cent compared to 43.22 per cent last year and the 10-year average of 50.47 per cent, CWC data showed.According to the IMD, fairly widespread rains are expected over Punjab till August 4, with the possibility of heavy rainfall at isolated places till August 3, for which a yellow alert has been issued.Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning gusty winds with speed reaching 50 kmph are also likely over Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Uttarakhand till August 5.