diff --git a/apps/monitoring/noc-monitoring.yaml b/apps/monitoring/noc-monitoring.yaml
index 461ced3..412380d 100644
--- a/apps/monitoring/noc-monitoring.yaml
+++ b/apps/monitoring/noc-monitoring.yaml
@@ -668,31 +668,39 @@ data:
               summary: "RemoteDesktop /metrics scrape returning no data"
               description: "No fc_desktop_session_events_total series for 10 minutes. Either the Prometheus scrape target is misconfigured or the web deployment stopped exporting metrics. Zabbix template carries the same 10m no-data trigger for cross-monitor parity."
 
-          # fc_desktop_pool_depleted is emitted as state-as-label: one series
-          # per template per status (Ready/Warming/BelowDesiredSize/Disabled).
-          # The publisher does NOT reset old series to 0 when a template
-          # transitions states — it just emits a new series with new labels.
-          # So a template that was Warming yesterday still has its
-          # Warming-labeled series stuck at 1 even when current status=Ready.
-          # Filter on the Critical alert_level (= BelowDesiredSize) so only
-          # genuine current-state depletion fires. Same fix on Deficit below.
+          # PUBLISHER QUIRK: fc_desktop_pool_depleted / _deficit emit one
+          # series per template per status (Ready/Warming/BelowDesiredSize/
+          # Disabled), and the historical series for non-current statuses
+          # stay at their last value. So just `_depleted > 0` fires forever
+          # on any template that ever entered a bad state.
+          #
+          # SAFE PATTERN: alert only when the canonical "Ready" status
+          # gauge does NOT report ready=1 for the enabled template. This
+          # is the publisher's own canary — _ready{status="Ready"}==1 is
+          # always the current "everything is fine" signal.
           - alert: RemoteDesktopPoolDepleted
-            expr: fc_desktop_pool_depleted{alert_level="Critical",enabled="true"} > 0
+            expr: |
+              group by(template) (fc_desktop_pool_ready{enabled="true"})
+              unless on(template) (fc_desktop_pool_ready{enabled="true",status="Ready"} == 1)
             for: 5m
             labels:
               severity: warning
             annotations:
               summary: "RemoteDesktop pool depleted ({{ $labels.template }})"
-              description: "Pool for template {{ $labels.template }} (status={{ $labels.status }}) has been depleted for 5 minutes. New launches will cold-start. Operator should check for pod-scheduling failures, image pull issues, or exhausted node capacity before warm-pool parity is expected back."
+              description: "Pool for template {{ $labels.template }} has no Ready warm pod for 5 minutes. New launches will cold-start. Check pod-scheduling failures, image pull issues, or exhausted node capacity."
 
+          # Same pattern, but only fires when template explicitly reports
+          # a sustained Warning-level alert state (current-status series).
           - alert: RemoteDesktopPoolDeficitSustained
-            expr: fc_desktop_pool_deficit{alert_level=~"Warning|Critical",enabled="true"} > 0
+            expr: |
+              fc_desktop_pool_deficit{enabled="true",alert_level="Warning"} > 0
+              unless on(template) (fc_desktop_pool_ready{enabled="true",status="Ready"} == 1)
             for: 10m
             labels:
               severity: info
             annotations:
               summary: "RemoteDesktop pool {{ $labels.template }} below desired for 10m"
-              description: "Pool {{ $labels.template }} (status={{ $labels.status }}) has a persistent deficit of {{ $value }} warm pods. The operator is reconciling but can't reach desired size — likely an image pull, NFS affinity, or claim-init issue."
+              description: "Pool {{ $labels.template }} has a persistent deficit of {{ $value }} warm pods AND no Ready series. Likely image pull, NFS affinity, or claim-init issue."
 
           - alert: RemoteDesktopSessionChurnSpike
             expr: sum(rate(fc_desktop_session_events_total{event="launch"}[5m])) * 60 > 20