Tarbela Dam

As of October 28, 2026, Tarbela Dam is filled to 64.4% of its total capacity, holding 4,432 hm³ of water out of a maximum 6,883 hm³. At this level the reservoir is within its normal operating range.

Over the most recent week on record the fill level has fallen by 3.3 percentage points.

Across the readings we hold for Tarbela Dam — 163 data points between May 18, 2026 and October 28, 2026 — the level has ranged from a low of 11.5% (June 25, 2026) to a high of 100.0% (August 10, 2026). On average the reservoir is fullest around August and at its lowest around June.

The dam at Tarbela Dam stands 148 m tall and is a embankment dam and was completed in 1976. It is operated by WAPDA primarily for hydroelectric power. It lies within the Indus basin at 33.872°N, 72.704°E.

Tarbela storage is WAPDA's daily usable storage, the live water above the 1,402 ft minimum operating level. The IRSA daily PDF gives the water level only. Where a day's WAPDA usable figure was published, that figure is stored. Every other day uses the IRSA level read through a piecewise-linear curve fitted to the 2026 WAPDA level and usable-storage pairs, so those pairs are reproduced. Fill is the usable volume divided by 5.580 million acre-feet, the usable water at the 1,550 ft maximum conservation level on 1 September 2026 (https://www.urdupoint.com/daily/livenews/2026-09-01/news-4927488.html) and in WAPDA's 10 August 2026 notice. Flood Forecasting Division bulletin 124/26 of 15 October 2026 (https://ffd.pmd.gov.pk/b/56582214-15be-46fc-8bb2-96fc5ff5227a) gives 1,518.80 ft and live storage 3.875 million acre-feet, and prints 69.44% beside a 6.511 million acre-foot live capacity and 0.960 million acre-feet of dead storage (dead level 1,380 ft). 3.875 divided by 5.580 is 69.4%, the bulletin's 69.44%, and that is the figure stored. 3.875 divided by 6.511 is 59.5%. The 6.511 figure is not the denominator: the same usable series held 5.580 million acre-feet at 1,550 ft on 1 September, and dividing by 6.511 would show that full conservation pool as 85.7%. The previous series was gross volume on an elevation curve that put 13,690 hm³ at 1,550 ft and called 11,422 hm³ (that gross minus 2,268 hm³) the live capacity. On 15 October that series stored 12,502.6 hm³ and 89.6%. It is retired. 5.580 million acre-feet is 6,882.8 hm³. Days between the 14 October pair (1,518.88 ft, 3.879 million acre-feet) and the 13 September pair (1,544.47 ft, 5.262 million acre-feet) are the straight line between those two published points. The 24 and 25 October readings are the APP wires reprinted by UrduPoint, because the IRSA files for those days were not available: 1,515.65 ft and 3.719 million acre-feet (https://www.urdupoint.com/daily/livenews/2026-10-24/news-4986065.html), then 1,515.21 ft and 3.697 million acre-feet (https://www.urdupoint.com/daily/livenews/2026-10-25/news-4987139.html).