A brutal heat wave is scorching parts of India, where acute power shortages are affecting millions as demand for electricity surges. The shortages are sparking scrutiny of India’s long reliance on coal, which produces 70% of the country’s electricity.
Climate change is making severe temperatures hotter and more frequent, with heat waves likely to strike India about once every four years instead of every five decades in the past, said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London. India urgently needs to prepare for record increases in power consumption as a result.
Out of India’s 165 coal plants, 94 are facing critically low coal supplies while 8 are not operational as of Sunday, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority. This means stocks have dropped below 25% of normal levels. “We don’t have enough resources to do proper forecasting. The hike in demand should not have come as a surprise,” Garg said.
Analysts expect demand to dip in the coming weeks, especially if the heat subsides, but it is likely to surge again in July and August, driven by rising humidity and the planting season in some Indian states. It is also the start of the monsoon, when heavy rains can flood coal mines and disrupt both mining and supply.following unusually heavy rains that flooded several mines.
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