Yamuna crosses danger level in Delhi as high discharge continues at Hathnikund

The peak hourly discharge, which crossed 3 lakh cusecs for the first time this season, has been above 1 lakh cusecs every hour since 4am on Monday

Published on: Sep 2, 2025, 10:15:14 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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The Yamuna crossed the “danger level” of 205.33 metres for the fourth time this season as high discharge of water continued through Haryana’s Hathnikund barrage. The river’s level, recorded at Old Railway Bridge (ORB), was 205.81 metres at 9am on Tuesday.

The Yamuna in Delhi as water levels have been rising sharply due to heavy discharge from the Hathnikund barrage. (HT PHOTO)

The Central Water Commission (CWC) forecast the level will rise and touch 206.41 metres by 9pm. The ORB is shut for operations once the river crosses 206 metres. Evacuations have commenced in low-lying areas.

The highest water level recorded this season (205.95 metres) was on August 19. “Unlike then, it is not expected to drop, but rise further. The district administration is prepared for evacuation,” said an official from the flood control room of the irrigation and flood control (I&FC) department.

The peak hourly discharge, which crossed 3 lakh cusecs for the first time this season, has been above 1 lakh cusecs every hour since 4am on Monday. In Delhi’s worst-ever flood in 2023, it remained over 1 lakh cusecs for five days, with a peak discharge of 359,760 cusecs from Hathnikund.

On Monday, the discharge touched 1,65,512 cusecs at 4am, 2,10,359 cusecs at 5am, and 3,11,029 cusecs at 8 am. It touched a season-high of 3,29,313 cusecs at 9am. At 9am on Tuesday, the peak discharge was 1,63,386 cusecs, the Central Water Commission said.

“Peak discharge remains over 1 lakh cusecs every hour, and that has already pushed the water level beyond the danger level in Delhi. Until discharge remains this high, water level will only rise further,” said Bhim Singh Rawat, associate coordinator at the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People.

Rawat said biodiversity parks on the floodplain, including Amrut Biodiversity Park and Asita East, and ghats like Vasudev were likely to get partially submerged. “The spread on the Chilla floodplains will depend on further release and operations at Okhla,” he said.

A flood warning was issued on Monday, which estimated water level is expected to cross 206.50 metres. In 2023, the Yamuna swelled to its highest-ever water level of 208.66m on July 13. Last year’s peak was only 204.38m on September 26.

In the past 63 years, the I&FC department data shows the warning level has been breached 53 times, making it a common annual occurrence. The river has crossed the 205-metre mark in 43 years and the 206-metre mark in only 14 years. Historically, the 207-metre mark has been breached in only four years, including 2023.

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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