Page 4 - The Indian EYE 051322

BIG STORY MAY 13, 2022 | The Indian Eye 4

RECORD HEAT & POWER SHORTAGE

Sweltering Summer

As temperatures rise to record levels, India faces an electricity supply crisis

due to increased demand and low supply of coal. As the worst months of summer lie ahead,
how can India prepare for a crisis?

OUR BUREAU
New Delhi/Mumbai
A
record-breaking heat wave has
been gripping India for weeks.
It is expected to keep dragging
on. Some of the worst heat could be
slightly subsiding — but more ex-
treme temperatures may be in store
in the coming days. The South Asian
region has suffered above-average
temperatures for weeks now, affect-
ing hundreds of millions of people.
The punishing extremes reached dan-
gerous new levels in the past week.
Cities across the region broke
monthly April records. Temperatures
have topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit
across much of the region and have
jumped above 110 F in many areas.
New Delhi saw temperatures climb
above 110 F for several days on end.
North-western and central India,
some of the worst-affected regions,
are believed to have experienced their
hottest April on record. The country
as a whole saw its hottest March in
122 years of recorded history and its Children jump into the waters of the Yamuna river to relieve themselves from the scorching heat on a hot summer day in New Delhi (ANI Photo)
fourth-hottest April this year.
It’s not just the severity of the months of stagnation amid coronavi- effect of buildings and other factors. dominant fuel used to generate elec-
temperatures that’s raising eyebrows. rus lockdowns. In addition to power cuts for fac- tricity in the country, the government
It’s how early in the year they’ve ap- Power cuts are expected to wors- tories, Rajasthan imposed four-hour halted hundreds of passenger trains.
peared and how long they’re lasting. en in the coming days as the heat- power cuts for rural regions, exposing Meanwhile, state-run Coal India
To make the situation worse, waves and a pickup in economic ac- thousands of families in the desert ramped up coal production by 27.2%
India is facing its worst electricity tivity are seen increasing electricity state to extreme temperatures. in April.
shortage in more than six years just demand at the fastest pace in nearly Due to several factors, India is In Delhi, the power demand in
as scorching temperatures force early four decades. staring at a coal crisis, with stock crit- the national capital crossed the 6,000
closures of schools and send people The unprecedented heat puts ically low at 108 of its 173 thermal megawatts (MW) per day mark for
indoors. In the northwest, Rajasthan millions of blue-collar workers, in- power plants. The Indian Railways the first time in April as the city gov-
has scheduled four hours of power cluding construction and farm la- has cancelled trains to prioritise de- ernment raised alarms over shortage
cuts for factories, making it at least bourers and those working on factory livery of coal rakes across the country. of coal. On Thursday, the Delhi gov-
the third state to disrupt industrial shop floors, at great risk. Sunstrokes Several states across the country ernment said its coal supplies were
activity to manage surging power de- have claimed thousands of Indi- reeled under long power cuts, as hot- depleting with Dadri-II having a day’s
mand. “In view of the present power an lives over the years. Daily wage ter-than-normal temperatures pushed coal stock left.
crisis, .. it has been decided to impose earners and those in urban slums the electricity demand, triggering a Uttarakhand is also no exception
scheduled cuts,” a state utility said. are among the most vulnerable to major power crisis. According to a re- to long power cuts as Uttarakhand
Industrial disruption and wide- heat, according to the Intergovern- port by Reuters, electricity supply fell Power Corporation Ltd MD Anil
spread power cuts are bad news for mental Panel on Climate Change, short of demand by 1.88 billion units, or Kumar attributed the acute shortage
corporate India, as economic activ- since cities tend to be warmer than 1.6%, during the first 27 days of April. to a rise in demand caused. He also
ity has just started to pick up after rural areas due to the heat trapping In view of the shortage of coal, a Continued at next page... >>

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