No Rivers in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Island Hydrology

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are an archipelago of 572 islands in the Bay of Bengal. Because they are islands, there are no rivers.

Freshwater comes from:

• Rainfall (tropical monsoon climate, ~3,000 mm/year)
• Groundwater lenses (thin freshwater layers atop saltwater)
• Small streams and seasonal runoff on larger islands
• Desalination and imported water for Port Blair

The absence of rivers shapes the islands' ecology, settlement patterns, and water management challenges.