Yamuna levels to rise again after season’s highest discharge at Hathnikund

The current peak discharge -- of 65,861 cusecs at 3pm on Thursday -- eclipsed the 61,729 cusecs released on August 6, which had pushed the water level to a season high of 205.15 metres on August 8

Published on: Aug 14, 2025, 22:54:22 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok, New Delhi

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The Yamuna is likely to see another surge in water levels in the coming days, fuelled by heavy rain spells and increased discharge from the Hathnikund barrage. On Thursday, the hourly discharge crossed a seasonal peak of 65,861 cusecs at 3pm — the highest so far this year — with levels expected to rise further as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts heavy to very heavy rain in the river’s upper reaches till the weekend.

New Delhi, India - Aug. 13, 2025: A view of clean bank of the Yamuna near Chhath Ghat in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday, August 13, 2025. (Photo by Arvind Yadav/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

In Delhi, the river’s level, measured at the Old Railway Bridge, hovered close to the warning mark of 204.5 metres. It stayed above this threshold from 3pm on Wednesday till 6am on Thursday, before dipping slightly, Central Water Commission (CWC) data showed. The danger level is 205.33 metres.

The current peak discharge eclipsed the 61,729 cusecs recorded on August 6, which had pushed the water level to a season high of 205.15 metres on August 8. Water from Hathnikund typically takes about 48 hours to reach Delhi.

Bhim Singh Rawat, associate coordinator at the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), said Thursday’s discharge stayed above 50,000 cusecs between 1pm and 6pm. “As seen last week, discharges of this volume helped the river breach the warning level. We can expect another surge in the coming days, with levels possibly moving closer to the danger mark,” he said.

According to the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Delhi’s highest flood level was 208.66 metres in 2023, when the city saw large-scale flooding. That year, the Hathnikund barrage released over 350,000 cusecs at its peak, with several hourly discharges above 100,000. Last year, the Yamuna’s highest level was 204.38 metres.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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