An extreme heat wave has hit parts of India. This led to a surge in the use of air conditioning which resulted in India's worst electricity crisis. As a result, even acute power shortages affect millions of people, as electricity demand soars to record levels.
Electricity demand grew 13.2 percent to 135.4 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) as electricity demand in northern India grew between 16 and 75 percent, according to an analysis of Government of India data. Coal supplies at many thermal power stations are running low, causing daily blackouts in several Indian states. The shortage has prompted tighter controls on coal, which produces 70% of the country's electricity.
This situation highlights India's urgent need to diversify its energy sources, as electricity demand is expected to increase more than anywhere else in the world over the next 20 years, as the densely populated country develops, according to the International Energy Agency.
The electricity shortage comes as extremely high temperatures hit parts of the country, prompting authorities to close schools. It also ignited a fire in a giant garbage dump and killed many plants as the spring suddenly turned into unrelenting heat.
India noted that March this year was the hottest month since 1901, and the average April temperature in the north and central regions of the country was the highest in 122 years, according to the Indian Meteorological Agency. Temperatures hit 45 degrees Celsius in 10 cities last week, although cloudy skies and rain could soon ease it.
"Climate change is making hot temperatures more severe and occurring more frequently, with heatwaves likely to hit India about once every four years, not every five decades as in the past," Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London, was quoted as saying. from ABC News.
He said India urgently needed to prepare for a record increase in electricity consumption as a result. The current power outage is certainly very disruptive to economic activity which has just recovered after the pandemic lockdown.
Experts warn the blackout could disrupt many sectors, including essential services such as hospitals. Many states including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan experienced power outages of up to seven hours.
On Friday (29/4) last week, the railway ministry canceled more than 750 passenger train services to allow more freight trains to move coal from mines to power plants.
A similar energy crisis occurred in October last year following unusually heavy rains that flooded several mines. The release of freight trains to transport coal is likely to defuse the situation and provide some relief, but it's not a long-term solution, experts say.
With climate change exacerbating heatwaves, energy shortages will become more frequent and demand will increase even further. But the answer is not to open new mines or add more coal to India's energy mix, as doing so increases greenhouse gases which in turn traps more heat.
"We need to focus aggressively on strengthening renewable energy and making it more reliable. Otherwise, the same problem will continue, because we are too dependent on this one fuel source," said Dahiya.
