Overview

• The Yamuna rose above the 205.33 m danger threshold, touching up to 206.03 m, prompting closure of the Old Railway Bridge and evacuation advisories for low-lying floodplain settlements in the capital.
• Upstream releases intensified the surge, with Haryana’s Hathnikund barrage discharging a season-high 329,000 cusecs, a flow that typically reaches Delhi within roughly 48 hours and raises downstream risk.
• Punjab reported severe inundation across at least a dozen districts, with at least 29 deaths and more than 2.56 lakh people affected, while colleges and universities remain shut and the governor begins district visits; the prime minister assured assistance.
• Transport and services were heavily disrupted across Delhi-NCR, including crippling traffic on NH-48 and other corridors, waterlogged expressways, metro snags, and widespread flight delays at Delhi airport.
• States escalated emergency measures as IMD kept orange and red alerts in force, with Haryana canceling officials’ leave through September 5, Gurugram shifting schools online and advising work from home, and multi-agency rescues expanding across Himachal, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Punjab.