Warning mark breached, Yamuna inches closer to danger mark in Delhi; minister says situation under control

The danger mark is 205.33 metres, and evacuations are triggered at 206 metres. In 2024, the river remained below the warning level.

Conducting an on-ground inspection of vulnerable areas on Thursday, Delhi’s Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said the situation was “completely under control”. “During this season, the Yamuna’s water levels typically rise. The department is fully alert and active. The significant difference this time is that all gates of the ITO Barrage are open. Unlike in 2023, no gate is closed. Hence, the flow of water remains uninterrupted,” he said in a statement.

The minister added that sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) have been asked to stay alert, and field staff be prepared to relocate citizens from vulnerable low-lying areas if required. “All barrages, regulators, pumping stations and drainage systems are being closely monitored,” he said.

Harish Kumar, in charge of the I&FC Department’s Boat Club unit, made public announcements urging people to immediately vacate the Yamuna floodplains, citing rising water levels and safety concerns.

Forecasts from CWC inputs showing 10-50 cm drop by tmrw afternoon

Earlier on Wednesday, Google’s real-time flood forecasting model, Google Hub — which uses data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) — had issued a flood alert for Delhi, predicting a 10-12 cm rise for Thursday.

As of Thursday noon, it indicated a potential decline of 10-50 cm by Friday afternoon. Despite this, authorities have remained cautious, noting that the current level is the highest recorded since the 2023 floods.
Officials from various agencies, including the I&FC Department, have been tracking the Yamuna’s level following heavy rainfall in upstream states.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), several regions in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh — both critical to the Yamuna’s catchment — have recorded significant rain in the past 24 hours (till 8.30 am on August 7). This contributes to increased discharge at the Hathnikund barrage, eventually impacting water levels in Delhi with a time lag of around 48 hours.

“For the first time this monsoon, discharge from Hathnikund crossed 50,000 cusecs, peaking at 61,729 cusecs around 5 to 6 am today (Thursday),” an I&FC Department official said.

“Since then, about 50,000 cusecs have been released every hour. This water takes around 36 to 48 hours to reach Delhi, entering first through Wazirabad and then flowing downstream to the ITO and Okhla barrages.”

“Water discharge at Hathnikund Barrage was recorded at 32,640 cusecs and 46,290 cusecs at Wazirabad Barrage at 5pm on Thursday,” a bulletin from the District Magistrate East office said.

The Yamuna’s level had been gradually rising since July 30, when it stood at around 202 metres. A slight dip on Tuesday was followed by a fresh spike on Wednesday evening, when the river reached 204.14 metres.

“The levels keep changing every hour depending on the discharge. But, on average, it stays at around 202-203 metres or 203-204 metres…,” the official said.

With water levels continuously rising, the situation mirrors the crisis that struck Delhi in 2023. On July 12 of that year, despite six forecasts from the CWC predicting that levels would “remain steady,” the Yamuna surged the following day to a record high of 208.66 metres. This led to the displacement of over 25,000 residents.

Given potential flood-like situations, the Delhi government last month cleared a proposal to formally approach the Haryana government seeking control of the ITO Barrage, which plays a key role in managing the Yamuna’s flow through the city.

The step was taken because, during the 2023 floods, jammed gates at the Barrage were blamed for exacerbating the crisis. While the gates have since been repaired, Delhi officials have argued that full operational control is necessary for swift flood management.

The Wazirabad barrage is managed by Delhi, the Okhla barrage by Uttar Pradesh, and the ITO barrage remains with Haryana.