NEW DELHI – Several parts of India are forecast to witness hotter-than-usual weather through June, raising the risk of more strain on the power network as people turn to air-conditioners to find reprieve from heatwaves.
Most areas of central, eastern and north-western states of India are likely to experience heatwaves during the three-month summer season, Mr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the India Meteorological Department, said in New Delhi on Saturday.
Climate change is increasing global temperatures and worsening the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
In 2022, there has been increased focus on India’s weather outlook after the subcontinent suffered a punishing heatwave that caused widespread human suffering and affected global wheat supplies.
Some states of India received unseasonal rains in March, damaging wheat, mustard and onion crops, and raising the risk of an increase in prices.
While farmers pray for sunshine for the drenched crop to dry, they remain wary of extreme heatwaves that could further erode yields.
Rainfall across the country was 26 per cent above normal in March, Mr Mohapatra said.
Preparations are under way for a spike in temperatures.
The Power Ministry predicts that peak electricity demand will climb to a new record in April as people crank up their air-conditioners, fans and refrigeration units.
It has ordered power plants to import coal, the country’s dominant power-station fuel, as domestic output may not be sufficient.
Diesel consumption rises during summer as it encourages people to travel to cooler mountains from plains and, at the same time, use of diesel-fuelled backup generators increases to make up for shortages from the grid.
Consumption of gas could also climb, as the government has mandated use of idling gas-fired power plants to meet the summer demand.
The weather office said temperatures in March were below-normal in most parts of the country, helped by unseasonal showers.
Rainfall was above normal in central, southern, eastern and north-eastern regions in February, according to the weather office. The country’s north-western region received below-average rains, it said.
For the month of April, longer-than-normal heat waves are expected in parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and Chhattisgarh, the weather office said.
The number of Indian states hit by heat waves since 2015 more than doubled to 23 by 2020.
The country describes heat wave as a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the hot weather season. BLOOMBERG