Delhi zoo readies monsoon action plan to protect animals
The National Zoological Park has prepared a comprehensive monsoon action plan to ensure no water logging incidents are reported both inside and outside enclosures, particularly during heavy rainfall spells, officials said on Sunday. Deer at Delhi Zoo on June 9. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)
The zoo said the plan was finalised a few weeks ago and many changes have been implemented, including repairing critical infrastructure, desilting and clearing drainage lines, procuring additional pumps, deploying additional manpower and identifying areas prone to waterlogging.
'All our pumps have been repaired and tested. We have ordered new pumps, too,' said Delhi zoo director Sanjeet Kumar. Additional manpower will mean that staff can be deployed 24x7 to pump out water, he added. 'The goal is to pump out water at the same time it rains heavily,' Kumar said, adding that enclosures have been identified where waterlogging was a concern. This includes enclosures of herbivores, primarily deer.
'Among the other measures are cleaning all moats and drainage channels, constructing new rain sheds and repairing of existing ones. We have also created soil mounds in our herbivore enclosures to give animals higher ground in case of flooding,' Kumar said. He said waterproof sheets were being used in the kraal and feeding platforms for animals.
Zoo staff will be equipped with monsoon gear such as gum boots, umbrellas and torches. 'Essential medicine for the monsoon season has also been procured,' he said.
Last year, there was a two-day-long power cut at the zoo towards the end of June after waterlogging damaged a transformer. Several animal enclosures were also waterlogged last year. Typically, the monsoon reaches Delhi on June 27 but its onset is expected on June 24 this year.
'The goal is to pump out water immediately to prevent any such issues again,' Kumar said. The zoo will hold regular internal reviews and coordinate with local administration to prevent crises.
The Delhi Zoo is home to more than 1,100 animals from 95 species, including endangered ones such as the Asiatic lion, one-horned rhinoceros, and Indian wolf. It opened in 1959 and is spread across 176 acres. HT recently reported how the zoo is preparing for a multi-crore revamp focused on better animal habitats and visitor facilities such as glass walls and natural enclosures.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Delhi-NCR gets rain but IMD defers monsoon onset again
By Saturday afternoon, it seemed the wait was finally over. Clouds thickened, rain swept across parts of Delhi, and temperatures dropped sharply. But despite the promising signs, the monsoon's official arrival in the Capital was deferred yet again and the forecast slipped past its mark. Dark clouds above Lodhi Garden on Saturday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT photo) The India Meteorological Department (IMD) stopped short of declaring monsoon onset over Delhi and the remaining parts of the country on Saturday, saying conditions were 'favourable' and the official declaration may come within the next 48 hours. Several parts of Delhi saw light to moderate showers by late afternoon, including the southwest, south and eastern zones. The heaviest rain was recorded in Mayur Vihar (23mm), while Palam and Ayanagar logged 9.7mm and 9.2mm respectively. Other areas such as Pusa (0.5mm), Najafgarh (2.5mm), and Lodhi Road recorded only trace rainfall. Delhi's base station at Safdarjung — crucial for determining monsoon onset — also logged only trace rain between 8.30am and 5.30pm. 'We need Safdarjung to report widespread rain to declare onset. We will look at the 24-hour rainfall data for the region as a whole, including west Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh to declare further onset,' an IMD official said, adding that the monsoon was moving towards Delhi from western Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, Noida received 21mm, Gurugram 10.7mm, and western UP saw intense afternoon spells. A yellow alert for light showers and winds of up to 50 km/hr has been issued for Sunday. IMD has said the monsoon's northern limit was still tracking through Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Jhunjhunu, Bharatpur, Rampur, Sonipat, and Anup Nagar — just short of Delhi. But conditions were finally aligning, it added. 'Conditions are becoming favourable for the further advance of southwest monsoon over the remaining parts of the country during the next two days,' IMD said in its daily bulletin, adding that heavy to very heavy rain is likely to continue over many parts of northwest, central, east and northeast India over the next seven days, with isolated and extremely heavy spells expected over Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh on June 30. The brief rain brought relief from the oppressive humid heat that the city had experienced in the past week or so. Delhi's maximum temperature stood at 36.2 degrees Celsius (°C) – a degree below the normal and 2.9°C cooler than Friday. The maximum temperature is forecast to be between 33 and 35°C on Saturday, IMD said. The minimum stood at 28.7°C, a degree above normal but forecast to drop by 1-2°C on Saturday. 'Between 1.30pm and 3.30pm, there was a fall of 10-12°C over south Delhi stations such as Ayanagar, Pushp Vihar and IGNOU and by 5-7°C over central Delhi stations like Lodhi Road, Pusa, Pragati Maidan,' said IMD scientist Krishna Mishra. The monsoon, despite making an early onset over Kerala, is late for the national capital. It reached Kerala almost a week early this year – on May 24 as compared to its normal date of June 1. However, it has already missed the normal date of June 27 for Delhi. For the past week, the monsoon has played a game of moving goalposts with the Capital. Last Friday, IMD said conditions were favourable for the monsoon to reach Delhi by Tuesday. Last Sunday, the forecast was revised to say the onset would happen 'in the next two days.' Meteorologist Ashwary Tiwary, who runs the weather page IndiaMetSky, said Saturday's rain was induced by the monsoon trough, which shifted north by evening. 'The trough was fairly elongated and so Delhi did not see widespread rain, including over Safdarjung. Had we seen that, the onset could have been declared on Saturday itself,' he said, adding that the monsoon trough is likely to remain north of Delhi on Sunday and Monday, with it strengthening further due to a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal. 'The low-pressure area will feed moisture and lead to more trough induced rains, including over Delhi. The trough is expected to extend from northern Pakistan to the Bay of Bengal, meaning northern India will see good rains till the end of the month,' Tiwari added. Delhi has received 93.1mm in monthly rainfall, making it rain-surplus even without the monsoon. The long period average for rain in June is 74.1mm. Last year, the monsoon arrived in Delhi on June 28, but dumped 228.1mm of rainfall in a single day. In 2023, the monsoon arrived early – on June 25, bringing 48.3mm in a single day. Delhi's air quality remained in the 'satisfactory' range on Saturday, aided by rain. The average air quality index (AQI) was 97 as compared to 76 (satisfactory) on Friday.
Indian Express
14 hours ago
- Indian Express
Knowledge Nugget: Why Cloudbursts and Flash Floods matter for your UPSC exam
Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up on your knowledge. Here's your knowledge nugget for today. (Relevance: In 2022, UPSC has asked a question: Explain the mechanism and occurrence of cloudbursts in the context of the Indian subcontinent. Discuss two recent examples. Questions related to climate events and climate-related reports have been UPSC favourites. In this regard, having a comprehensive understanding of this topic is important from the exam perspective.) Three bodies were recovered in Kangra on Thursday (26th June), taking the toll from flash floods triggered by cloudbursts to five, said officials. At least four cloudburst incidents were reported in Banjar, Gadsa, Manikaran, and Sainj of Kullu district, officials said. Given the heightened risk of floods, landslides, and cloudbursts following the active monsoon, the Himachal Pradesh Police Headquarters has issued an advisory. 1. A cloudburst is an extreme weather event. In simple words, it refers to intense rainfall occurring over a short duration within a small area. It is called an extreme weather event because the frequency of cloudbursts has increased due to global warming across the world. 2. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines it as unexpected precipitation exceeding 100mm (or 10 cm) per hour over a geographical region of approximately 20 to 30 square km. Significant amounts of rainfall such as this can result in floods. (Note: Basically, all instances of cloudbursts involve heavy rain in a short period, but all instances of heavy rain in a short period are not cloudbursts if they do not fit this criterion.) 3. The formation of clouds and even cloudbursts occur suddenly. Doppler radars (used to determine the velocity of an object) can predict heavy rainfall events up to two hours in advance but they cannot detect the velocity if a mountain obstructs the signal. Also, cloudbursts are not confined to one place. The conditions that trigger cloudbursts can develop quickly in one location and then move to another, making it difficult for early prediction. 4. Excessive or continuous rainfall over a period of days, or during particular seasons, can lead to stagnation of water and cause flooding. Flash floods refer to such a situation, but occurring in a much shorter span of time, and are highly localised. It commonly happens more where rivers are narrow and steep, so they flow more quickly 5. In India, flash floods are often associated with cloudbursts – sudden, intense rainfall in a short period of time. Himalayan states further face the challenge of overflowing glacial lakes, formed due to the melting of glaciers, and their numbers have been increasing in the last few years. To raise awareness about the significance of preserving glacier health in a warming world, the United Nations has declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation. 6. Frequently, flash floods are accompanied by landslides, which are sudden movements of rock, boulders, earth or debris down a slope. It is common in mountainous terrains, where there are conditions created for it in terms of the soil, rock, geology and slope. 📍In the hill states like Himachal Pradesh, three main factors contribute to cloudbursts: first, the wind pattern; second, the height of the mountains; and third, the level of moisture and humidity in the air. 📍In the mountains, low-pressure areas form at the top, attracting clouds with significant force. Warm air creates thunderstorms. When air coming from the opposite direction collides with the mountain, it can result in a heavy downpour. This is why the height of the mountain matters in this scenario. The air cannot penetrate the mountain. 📍In these areas, sometimes saturated clouds ready to condense into rain cannot produce rain, due to the upward movement of the very warm current of air. Instead of falling downwards, raindrops are carried upwards by the air current. New drops are formed and existing raindrops increase in size. After a point, the raindrops become too heavy for the cloud to hold on to, and they drop down together in a quick flash. 1. According to the recently released State of Climate in Asia 2024 report, prepared by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in collaboration with regional and international meteorological organisations. The report highlighted how changes in key climate indicators such as surface temperature, glacier mass and sea level will have major repercussions for societies, economies and ecosystems in the region 2. According to the report, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on record in 2024, with its average temperature 1.04 degree Celsius above the last 30-year average. Asia is warming up nearly twice as fast as the global average. 3. The impact of this high rate of warming in 2024 manifested through a range of extreme weather events such as 29 tropical cyclones, prolonged and intense heat waves and extreme rainfall events, including India. 4. In India, extreme heatwaves caused over 450 deaths across the country, the report said. During heatwaves in 2024, temperatures were in the range of 45-48 degree Celsius for sustained periods and touched a high of 50 degrees at some locations. The country also saw deadly lightning events, killing about 1,300 people, the report said. 5. Glaciers continued to lose mass, as per the report, with 23 out of 24 glaciers in the High Mountain Asia region of central-south Asia spanning Himalayas, Pamir mountains, Karakoram, Hindu Kush. The melting of glaciers affects sea level, regional water cycles and the occurrence of local hazards such as glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). 6. In terms of extent, marine heatwaves created a record in 2024, impacting an area of nearly 15 million square kilometres. The northern Indian Ocean, adjacent to Japan and the Yellow and East China seas faced particularly severe or extreme intensity of marine heatwaves. Which of the following statements with regard to cloudburst is/are correct? (UPSC CDS 2017) 1. It is defined as sudden localized very heavy downpour with cloud thunder and lightning. 2. It mostly occurs in the hilly areas. 3. It results into very high intensity of rainfall, i.e., 250 mm-300 mm in a couple of hours. 4. It occurs only during the daytime. Select the correct answer using the code given below. (a) 1, 2, and 3 (b) 1, 3, and 4 (c) 2 and 3 (d) 2 only (Source: Asia warming nearly twice global average, hit hard in 2024: WMO, Explained: What are cloudbursts, and why they occur more in places like Amarnath, Explained: What are flash floods and why they may increase in the next few years, Find out how a radar can help prevent damage caused by cloudburst) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for June 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at Khushboo Kumari is a Deputy Copy Editor with The Indian Express. She has done her graduation and post-graduation in History from the University of Delhi. At The Indian Express, she writes for the UPSC section. She holds experience in UPSC-related content development. You can contact her via email: ... Read More
Hindustan Times
17 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Chandigarh: Weak monsoon system behind no rain over past few days, says MeT
Jun 28, 2025 08:16 AM IST Residents can expect a downpour in the next two-three days, India Meteorological Department officials said on Friday. Over the next three days, the maximum temperature will remain between 32°C and 34°C while minimum temperature will remain between 26°C and 28°C. (Keshav Singh/HT) Though monsoon was declared on June 24, the city has barely seen any rain since then. 'This is because monsoon winds and clouds were getting weakened by the time they reached the city,' said IMD Chandigarh director Surender Paul. 'This will, however, change in the next two-three days as a new system is likely to form over the Bay of Bengal around Sunday which will strengthen the monsoon system. Further, we are expecting a Western Disturbance (WD) also to affect the region around the same time. So chances of rain are likely to rise from Sunday,' he added. Amid sunny conditions, the maximum temperature rose from 36.6°C on Thursday to 37.2°C on Friday, one degree above normal. The minimum temperature rose from 26.8°C on Thursday to 29.2°C on Friday, 2.6 degrees above normal. Over the next three days, the maximum temperature will remain between 32°C and 34°C while minimum temperature will remain between 26°C and 28°C.
